


Crawling to the Dawn

by TheTrueOverlordBear



Category: Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Drama, F/M, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-01-31 20:52:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12690036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTrueOverlordBear/pseuds/TheTrueOverlordBear
Summary: Shirou Emiya ends up summoning a certain treacherous Knight of the Round Table as his Servant for the Fifth Holy Grail War, and said Servant is a somewhat sane Berserker to boot...a Berserker who then ends up wanting to smack some sense into him and a bunch of other people.





	1. E-Rank Luck

When Shirou Emiya found himself spotted by a spear-wielding man in a blue bodysuit, a twin-bladed man in red and gray, and, even more surprisingly, Rin Tohsaka...well...

Shirou Emiya froze.

"RUN, YOU IDIOT!"

That shout from the normally cold school idol snapped Shirou out of his shock, though, and so he ran.

But when he ran, his mind had locked on a path which he probably wouldn't have thought of if Tohsaka hadn't shouted at him.

Said path was a path which went past Tohsaka, and he found himself running with luck as the rushing spearman got blocked by the tanned and white-haired man.

But then he paused, just as he landed a step outside of the school gate.

Would Tohsaka be safe there?

Shirou took a look behind him, worried for the school idol whom he had a crush on. Her bodyguard, that tanned and white-haired man with the twin blades, seemed to be doing a decent job at protecting her, but that spearman didn't look like an easy opponent either.

"JUST GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!"

Suddenly, Shirou heard her shout again, and when he looked at her, he found her looking towards him. And although her face and figure looked pretty distant from where he was, Shirou was certain that she wasn't amused.

And again, Shirou ran, running away from the school and towards his house.

The trip back to his house felt like a lucky one, too, as he didn't catch that spearman trailing anywhere behind him. Perhaps the layout of the neighborhood confused him?

Oh well, what mattered was that he got himself inside the Emiya residence and hidden inside his shed as quickly as possible. Enter gate, lock gate, run to shed, open shed door - Wait, the Bounded Field, someone got in -

And then he found himself flying...crashing into his shed, breaking the rusty metal doors as well.

Everything seemed to spin as his senses tried to pick up what was going on around him. Pain seared through his body as he lay and groaned on an unhinged piece of metal.

Had the spearman chased him? Why would he chase him? Were Tohsaka and her bodyguard after him?

"You know...your little lady friend's right: You're an idiot."

Shirou then remembered his thoughts about that fight in the schoolyard being something he probably wasn't supposed to see.

Indeed, Shirou agreed with the spearman, whose face was now growing clearer in his vision. Slow responses had made him an easier target, and it made him angry.

Really, his powerlessness made him angry. It was like the fire all over again.

It reminded him that his efforts still weren't enough.

Would they ever be, though, now that a spear pierced his chest?

"Sorry, kid," he heard the spearman say, "But rules are rules."

"No..."

"Huh?"

Well, he wasn't going to let it stay that way.

"I'm not...going to die...like this..."

"Well, you're done already, kid, so don't - Wait, what are you doing?"

He could feel resistance going against his resistance, a force that was growing stronger against him in fractions of seconds, but Shirou wasn't going to let that spear stay inside him. A part of him was ringing, saying that it was stupid, but the redhead wasn't going to follow that part.

Shirou was angry, and if it would keep him alive, then he'd live with it. After that, he needed to fight...to get stronger...to protect others.

But the slowness of the removal was getting to him even more. The spearman was grunting as well, ticked off by Shirou's efforts.

The growing difficulty of the struggle then caused Shirou's mind to scream in pain, but he didn't let that be voiced by his mouth...and why could he, when all he could let out now was something that sounded closer to a croak than a scream?

Still, his mind screamed for strength, for more power.

"Stop strug - What the - "

And then there was a burst of wind and light, followed by a clash of metal, which then led to the removal of the red spear from Shirou's chest.

After that, Shirou blacked out.

* * *

"Well...it appears that he is awake."

Shirou tried to open his eyes, but the sudden brightness had him closing them until they adjusted.

Eventually, his eyes were able to recognize three faces under the light bulb of a room inside his house.

One face, the most familiar, was that of Rin Tohsaka, the raven-haired and aqua-eyed school idol who currently wore even more emotions on her face than he usually saw her display at school.

"Are you okay, Emiya-kun?" she asked, her surprisingly concerned voice warming his heart.

"Do you even need to ask that, Rin?" interrupted the low voice of her bodyguard, who stood beside rather than kneel like his charge did, face covered in shadow under the light bulb. With that, annoyance for the man quickly grew within Shirou.

"Have some respect, Archer!" Tohsaka shouted. "He almost died!"

"And we're gonna kill him later," the man named Archer answered with disturbing seriousness.

"Not on my watch, you fools."

At that, Shirou turned to the third face...which was completely covered by a horned helmet.

The redhead wasn't sure about whether he should feel worried or reassured.

"Nice job with the cool line, Mr. Knight Wannabe," Archer snarked.

"Is that the sound of wild dog I hear?" the helmet-wearing person shot back with a light voice. "Milady, will you keep your dog muzzled?"

"Yeah, right."

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Archer groaned at Tohsaka's laughter, and he put a hand to his face, muttering.

Meanwhile, Shirou sat up to watch the strange but humorous scene...and speaking of strange...

"What happened?" he couldn't help asking.

Everyone quieted at that, faces now uniform in seriousness...except for the helmed person, probably, whose facial expression was clearly unreadable.

"You died," Archer then broke the quiet.

"Archer!" Tohsaka then stood up with indignation. "He did  _not_ die! His Command Spells were still active when I managed to start healing him!"

"Heh...I was just joking," Archer looked away with a scoff and a smirk.

"Well, that's a definitely a bad joke, then!" the angry girl shot back, and then she looked towards the unfortunate butt of the joke. "Just ignore him, Emiya," she said. "He's always like that."

"Ugh..." the tall and tanned man groaned with a palm to his face, "Yeah, just ignore the chain of mistakes you made tonight..."

And then the fully armored one shook with a chuckle that quickly turned into a laugh.

Said laugh made Tohsaka freeze, while Archer let out a loud sigh.

Meanwhile, Shirou wasn't sure about how to react to all that. His question still wasn't answered as much as he needed, but the oddness of the circumstances he was in made him feel like he was in uncharted territory.

After all, it wasn't everyday that he met two imposing figures with combat outfits and Rin Tohsaka with mood swings and Magecraft skills.

"Argh, enough already!" Rin then shouted, fists in front of herself. "Can you two Servants just shut your mouths for a while!?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"As you wish, milady~"

The reactions of the two beings she called Servants still didn't please Tohsaka, but it was enough for her to be able to put some focus on Shirou.

"Okay, if your Servant over here," she pointed to the fully armored Servant, "Weren't keeping watch over me and Archer, then we would have left you behind."

"As if," Archer jibed.

"Shut up, Archer!" Tohsaka shouted back for some moments before turning her focus back to Shirou. "But since Archer and I were spotted after Lancer retreated and before I healed you, well..."

"Milady..." the armored Servant then followed with a mischievous tone as Tohsaka trailed off into sudden and awkward silence, "You can always say that you fancy him."

Wait, what?

"Are you saying that...Tohsaka has a crush on me?"

Well, as Shirou then went to process that very surprising implication...

"Oh dear," Archer then expressed, clear worry on his face as he alternated his focus between Tohsaka and the other Servant.

As for Tohsaka...well, she was starting to look like a kettle reaching boiling point.

The sight caused Shirou to feel mixed emotions, indeed.

The oddly behaving school idol then let out a very deep and very loud breath, and then she stomped away with an "I hate you all..."

Meanwhile, Archer let out a sigh and shook his head.

"I guess I'll leave the whole explanation thing to you, then," the tanned man told the armored Servant. "This is really a lot for me to take in, honestly..."

And then he walked away, following the stressed-out girl.

With that, a still confused Shirou was left with the armored Servant.

"So...who are you?" the redhead then asked, standing up...and finding out that he was actually taller than his still imposing acquaintance.

Really, it was an odd feeling.

"You may call me...Berserker," the Servant said with his youthful-sounding voice.

"'Berserker'?" Shirou parroted. "You mean like those wild fighters? Don't they look a little more..."

"Unclothed?" Berserker followed. "Well, my Servant Class doesn't necessarily make me have the appearance of such fighters, but I do have the skills and traits to be reminiscent of one."

"Huh, is that so...? Well, what do you mean by 'Servant,' then?"

"Would you like the basic explanation or the detailed explanation?"

"Uhh...just the basics first, please."

"Well, in that case, I am a summoned spirit - one among seven - whose purpose is, as the title clearly implies, to serve a Master - which is you in our case - in a war for a wish-granting cup known as the Holy Grail. With that, it is called the 'Holy Grail War.'"

Even though that wasn't that complex of an explanation, Shirou still couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Indeed, he felt more disbelief than when he first found out about Magecraft from Kiritsugu!

"What...?" was what the shocked redhead managed to utter in response.

"Feel free to ask more questions, Master," Berserker replied with a deep and dramatic bow, a bow that reminded Shirou of knights and medieval nobility. "I shall make sure that you understand what we are going through, all for the sake of our victory."

"Uhh...thanks..." Shirou replied, but he still felt nervousness, so... "But can you take off your helmet first? You look really sc - "

Suddenly, he felt a chill as he met the facing helmet of his Servant. Shirou couldn't see his eyes, but he had a strong feeling that what Berserker was emitting was murderous intent.

"Be careful with your words, Master," the even more frightening Servant told Shirou. "You should remember that our relationship still has boundaries."

"O-Okay..." the frightened Master couldn't help saying. "A-Anyway...you're saying that we're in a fight to the death which would end with the winner's wish being granted?"

"Hm, you're quite perceptive, Master," Berserker replied, quickly back with his relaxed voice, something which made him even more frightening to Shirou. "It is indeed a fight to the death for a cup which can grant any wish your heart desires. I can feel your sadness, Master, but that is how it goes."

"So you're saying that if it goes into the wrong hands..."

"Then much wrong will happen, indeed."

Now that was something which sent Shirou into deep seriousness. His decision in regards to that was something he took little time with, too.

"I'll have to make sure that no one evil gets it, then," he said, a resolute face towards Berserker.

"A good course of action and a good heart you have, Master," the Servant replied, one hand stretched out, as if asking for a handshake. "I believe that this is the start of a beautiful friendship, too."

Shirou then accepted that hand, beginning to put trust into his Servant...though of course, he reminded himself to not to violate the boundaries of their relationship.

After that, the redheaded magus then realized that there were important questions that he still needed answers for.

"Say, how were you summoned?" he asked Berserker. "I don't remember summoning you, see..."

"I heard your wish for power, and I answered it," Berserker answered. "I also found your struggle against Lancer admirable."

"'Lancer'?" Shirou wondered as he tried to piece together what his Servant meant. "Are you talking about that guy with the blue suit and the red spear?"

"Yes, that was Lancer, who, of course, wields a spear as his main weapon. And speaking of his spear, your survival from being stabbed in the chest with it is something awe-inspiring."

At the mention of being stabbed in the chest, Shirou winced as he begun to remember the pain said moment caused him.

"Tohsaka healed me, right?" the redhead then tried to recount. "But...aren't we supposed to be enemies?"

From what Berserker told him, the Holy Grail War was a fight to the death between seven Master-Servant pairs...so why did Tohsaka heal him?

A sigh from Berserker was the beginning of the answer to those questions.

"She has a crush on you, Master," the armored Servant answered. "You witnessed how that fact was revealed, too."

"Huh...I hadn't really been able to imagine Tohsaka liking me that way..." Shirou mused, "But then again, I hadn't been able to imagine Tohsaka not being as calm as she usually is at school, let alone her being a magus...It's really surprising..."

And Shirou couldn't even think of a possible reason for the school idol's crush on him. He was just the school's brownie, after all, and such interest from someone as popular and talented as Rin Tohsaka felt like a little too much of a reward for someone like him...even though he really had a crush on her.

Shirou honestly thought that she deserved better.

"We should form an alliance with her, then," Berserker then suggested.

"Huh?"

"An alliance, Master. Have you not expected the formation of alliances in war?"

"Oh, an alliance..." Shirou trailed off. "But her Archer doesn't seem like he'd be up for one..."

"Worry not, then, Master," Berserker assured, "For she has her Command Spells."

"Command Spells?"

"Do you see that tattoo on your hand?"

At that question, Shirou then went to look at his hands...and then he found a tattoo on the back of his left hand. The tattoo reminded him of a sword, too.

"That is your set of three Command Spells, Master," the armored Servant then explained. "It signifies that you are a Master, and each one of them allows you to give an order that your Servant cannot refuse...unless you give a very broad order. You only need to put your mind to it and utter your order as you utilize one, and with all that, you should remember to use them wisely."

"I see...so Tohsaka would be able to keep Archer in line, then?"

"Correct, Master. We need not worry so much if she ever decides to form an alliance with us...and even if Archer would be somehow able to attempt harm on us, I am confident that we would be able to defeat him."

"Really?" Shirou asked with a brightened look. "I'm glad, then...and I may not be as talented at Magecraft as Tohsaka probably is, but I'll do my best to help you, Berserker!"

"Well, I appreciate your support, Master," Berserker answered with another one of his dramatic bows. "And of course, I shall be your sword!"

"Thank you...oh, and, uh...just call me Shirou," the Master added. "It feels weird being called 'Master,' you know."

"Very well then...Shirou," the Servant complied, going back to straight standing position. "Now, we should - "

Suddenly, there was a distant crash, followed by a shout.

"The garden!" Shirou then exclaimed as he started running from the dining room, his Servant audibly following with weighty metal armor.

And by the time the owner of the house and his battle partner arrived at the source of the noise...

"It appears that they were trying to leave us behind for some reason," Berserker declared.

"I swear, this is the worst day of my life!" a red-faced Rin Tohsaka screamed as she sat in an awkward seiza position, while her hands held her skirt down.

As for Archer, he was lying on top of a fallen tree branch, surrounded by scattered leaves and some broken roof tiles, all while staring towards the night sky with a sigh of resignation.

"Talk about my E-Rank Luck," said the tanned servant with white hair and a red shroud.

"I will kill you if you say another word, Archer!" Tohsaka shouted, right before she slowly took a deep breath...

And then she went and spat a stream of expletives.

Shirou thought about leaving her be, but he felt like it would be unbecoming of him to just leave her there.

And besides, she liked him, right? He should say something that would help improve her mood...

"Uhh...would you like some tea, Tohsaka?"

The girl then stopped mid-curse, and then she slowly turned her piercing eyes towards the boy who presented the offer.

Shirou felt a shudder as his eyes locked with those eyes, but he maintained his gaze with determination.

"You know what...I'd like that," Tohsaka answered, and then she stood up and walked back to the house, dusting her skirt and straightening her clothes as she did so. Her posture looked somewhat mechanical, though...

Oh, and "mechanical" wasn't exactly how Shirou would've described it, but the other option wasn't something which he considered polite enough.

"You want some tea as well?" Shirou also offered to Archer. He disliked the guy, sure, but it felt rude to not show some courtesy to someone whom Tohsaka considers important...usually.

"I can make my own, thanks," Tohsaka's Servant answered, not meeting eyes with Shirou.

"Okay, so, Berse - "

"I am not thirsty, but I thank you for the offer, Shirou," Berserker interrupted, but his tone wasn't really that painful to hear.

"Oh, okay. Just for me and Tohsaka, then."

The redhead ended up having a blush when he realized how that sounded, but he shook his head, remembering Tohsaka's current mood.

With that, Shirou went to prepare some tea. He also decided to go out on a limb and brew Earl Grey tea, thinking that it felt suitably fancy for the wealthy girl with a Western-style house.

And while he was working on the tea, he took some time to look at Berserker, who was just standing nearby.

"Are you sure you don't want some tea?" Shirou asked. He didn't want to make Berserker feel out of place, after all.

"Normal meals are merely trivial for Servants, Shirou," Berserker answered. "So worry not about such things when it comes to your Servant."

"Okay, then."

And then Shirou looked at Tohsaka...who had her face down on the dining table.

He hoped that she hadn't fallen asleep, for it would be a waste of tea if that were the case.

Fortunately, by the time Shirou went to serve the tea, she raised her head to look at him when he called her.

"I made some Earl Grey," he told her, setting the tray of teapot and teacups down. "I hope it's to your liking."

Tohsaka then took a cup as Shirou sat down and also took a cup.

Their teatime looked serene...well, almost.

See, behind Shirou was a completely armored figure with a horned helmet, and peeking out from a nearby corridor was a tall and tanned man with white hair.

If the circumstances were different, then Shirou would have found the scene funny. But right now, he was feeling uneasy.

And hey, they hadn't even gotten to the action-packed deathmatches yet!

Well, there was that recent one with Lancer, but that was more of a pathetic attempt at escaping the spear-wielding combatant than a two-sided fight to the death.

Now that thought ticked Shirou off again. Sure, he had a Servant who was, at least, stronger than him, but he wasn't going to let himself be a burden for Berserker.

Hmm, maybe Berserker can train him sometime...?

"So," Tohsaka suddenly cut in, setting down her teacup with a serious expression, "Do you know what you've gotten yourself into, Emiya-kun?"

"It's the Holy Grail War," Shirou answered, recounting what Berserker told him. "It's a fight between seven pairs of Masters and Servants, all for a wish-granting cup. Berserker told me about it."

"Yes, I did," Berserker confirmed, nodding. "I also told him about the Command Spells. And...hm, it seems like you have already used one, Lady Tohsaka."

That comment caused Shirou to look at Tohsaka's hands, but when he noticed that she didn't have her marks on the back of her left hand, said left hand had already covered the back of her other hand.

Upon looking up, Shirou then noticed that Tohsaka's was blushing, grimacing, and trying to look away.

Also, he heard a snort from behind him.

"It was an emergency," the Master with two Command Spells then said, looking at Shirou with force that presented a "Don't even try to ask further" declaration.

"Yeah, it was an emergency, alright..." Archer's quiet but still audible mutter sounded.

"Emiya-kun, refill my cup, please," said the snarked girl who now had a calmer tone, closed eyes, and a more dangerous smile.

Of course, Shirou went and did as she ordered without any question.

Also, the school brownie understood the Student Council President a little better now...

"Thank you, Emiya-kun," Tohsaka said once she got her refilled teacup. With that, she carefully drank all of its contents, though there was that almost unnoticeable trembling of her arm, which stilled as she drank more and more of the tea. "Now, where was I...?" she said as she put her teacup down again. "Ah, yes, I was going to ask...Your Servant is a Berserker? Are you joking, Emiya-kun?"

"Huh? Is there something wrong?" a puzzled Shirou asked.

"Berserkers have a Skill called 'Mad Enhancement,' kid," Archer answered, walking towards Tohsaka's side. "What Rin's saying here is that your Servant probably has a weak form of it, hence the sanity."

"I would advise you to not speak of me so lowly."

Suddenly, there was Berserker, who responded with that intimidating aura again. He was still standing on the same spot, which was behind Shirou, but the armored Servant's Master could feel that aura he first felt upon attempting to ask him to remove his helm.

And judging from the other Master-Servant pair's tension in their body language, they felt it as well.

"Alright, now that's definitely a Berserker you have there..." Tohsaka remarked with a cautious expression. "Now, I'd like to ask: How much do you know about Magecraft, Emiya-kun?"

Now that was a reason for dread. Especially when said reason was presented by a very good liar of a school idol.

"And here comes the kicker..." Archer also offhandedly commented, causing further dread within Shirou.

Okay...Reinforcement and Projection still counted for something, right?

"I know Reinforcement and Projection," Shirou then tried to say with confidence.

"And?" Tohsaka pressed, eyebrows raised.

"And, uhh..."

He was that readable, wasn't he?

Shirou ended up awkwardly laughing.

"That's all you know, huh?" Archer added with that annoying tone of his. "Heh, you're really easy to read. And let me take a wild guess: You don't even have your Magic Circuits open yet."

Now that got Shirou thinking about whether he had been with Magic Circuits or not. Kiritsugu didn't say anything, and, of course, Tohsaka doesn't know as well.

Still, he didn't want to lose even more face!

"Uhh...I try to make Magic Circuits from my nerves?" Shirou ended up saying. That counted for something, right? Maybe it was even more amazing than the norm, right?

Archer's facepalm seemed to be a big no, though...and he probably knew more than Shirou, as much as the redheaded third-rate hated to admit it.

Now, back to the girl whom Issei disliked very much. She was now looking at Shirou with an open and hanging jaw, eyes widened like she had just discovered a fly floating in an almost properly prepared bowl of soup that was served to her.

Maybe that fly was also very big. And very many.

"What?" Tohsaka then uttered, her intonation carrying heavy amounts of disbelief. " _Making Magic Circuits from your nerves_?"

Was that impressive or what?

Hmm...judging from how Tohsaka suddenly served herself tea while still keeping her eyes on him...

"Do you have a death wish, Emiya-kun?" she coldly asked after drinking her third cup of tea.

Yup, definitely not impressed. If only Kiritsugu had taught him more...

"My dad didn't teach me a lot, actually..." Shirou replied, looking down and rubbing the back of his head.

"Why do I like this guy, again?" Tohsaka muttered as she went to rub the bridge of her nose.

"I'm sorry..." the third-rate magus ended up saying. He really had gone and set his expectations a little too high.

"Would you still be willing to train him, though?"

Suddenly, there was Berserker, stepping forward with that question.

Indeed, the armored Servant's appearance seemed less frightening and more empowering now.

"Are you serious?"

Still, Tohsaka was looking pretty offended.

"A downgraded Servant with a third-rate magus of a Master," she continued, "Asking for Magecraft training from a potential enemy?"

"We would like to ask for an alliance as well," Berserker replied, unfazed by said potential enemy's words. "Besides, it appears that you and Shirou here have similar senses of justice. His wish is to simply keep the Grail from nefarious hands, and if your wish is not a wicked one, then rest assured that you will have our support."

"But don't you have a wish of your own?" Tohsaka shot, one eyebrow raised with suspicion.

"Well...I have none," Berserker answered. "Unless you count being...a more honorable knight a wish that the Grail can grant."

What followed was an exchange of silence. If the helmet-wearing Servant had, at least, his eyes exposed, then it would have seemed more like a staring contest.

The apparent staring contest ended when Tohsaka closed her eyes with crossed arms and a resigned sigh.

"I'd probably regret it if I tried to kill him after what you did, you crazy Berserker..." the female Master grumbled. "Still," she continued more audibly, setting her eyes on the negotiating Servant's covered face, "I'll be honest: I don't believe your words about your wish."

"Believe what you want, then," Berserker replied, raising his arms up to shrug. "I'll even be willing to give you and your Archer a fight whenever and wherever you wish, Lady Tohsaka, but that would be very bothersome for your crush here, no?"

Shirou agreed with that, and he gave Tohsaka a begging look. It felt somewhat off-putting, guilt-tripping her like that, but if she decided to go over things peacefully, then it would assure him that she really wasn't that bad of a person.

"Alright, then," Tohsaka answered, releasing another sigh. "I'll bite. But if we ever catch you attempting to backstab, then we won't hesitate to kill you."

That was a worrying declaration, but still...

"So you're still up for an alliance, Tohsaka?" Shirou asked with a mixture of worry and hope.

"Yes, Emiya-kun," she answered with a soft smile, which then turned into a hard frown as she faced Berserker. "It's just that I'm more worried about your Servant. Masters aren't the only ones with wishes they want to grant, you see."

"Again, believe what you want, Lady Tohsaka," Berserker told her. Said reminder also earned a scoff from Archer.

"Says the guy who hides his face under a creepy helmet," the tall and tanned man also snarked.

Shirou then gave a worried look to his Servant. Berserker was silent, and his body language didn't show clear signs of being offended. Still, his silence felt off-putting.

"Don't worry, Berserker," the redhead told his Servant. "I'm sure you have some good in you."

Shirou also ignored the scoffs he heard from his new allies.

Berserker turned to look at Shirou, but the former was still silent. It made the latter worry some more, but fortunately, the Servant broke the silence.

"Thank you...Shirou," Berserker said, his speech sounding more noticeably slower. "I shall...strive to serve you better," he also followed up with a knee to the floor, a hand to the chest, and his face aimed towards the floor.

Also, Berserker seemed to be trembling. It made Shirou concerned, so he put a hand on his Servant's shoulder.

The trembling stilled, and then a deep breath was heard from the helmed Servant.

"Worry not...Shirou," Berserker said. "Worry not."

"Well, if you know what you got yourself into now," Tohsaka declared as she started standing up, "Then I'll be making myself comfortable in one of your guest rooms. Archer will stay here with you."

"Are you sure about this, Rin?" the mentioned Servant asked, uncertainty showing on his face.

"Don't worry, Archer," the female Master replied as she walked away with a waving hand, which was the one with her two remaining Command Spells and the other faded and used-up mark. "I'm sure you can handle both of them. And I can always call you with a Command Spell if things go too crazy."

Archer looked at her like he wanted to say something more, but he eventually loosened up and turned around.

"Alright, then," Tohsaka's Servant said, turning his head a little over his shoulder. "I'll make sure you have a good batch of the kid's clothes for you to wear the next morning, then, Rin."

And then Archer and the other Master-Servant pair rolled aside Tohsaka shot a dark Gandr bullet behind her.

And then she opened her eyes and revealed her teeth, forming the grinning face that reminded Shirou of Issei Ryuudou's rants about Rin Tohsaka.

"Why, I thank you for the reminder, Archer," she said, venomous sarcasm dripping from her words. "I'll make sure to make you work extra harder along with Emiya-kun over there."

Now that didn't sound very promising. Especially since Archer seemed to experience sudden failure with his attempt at a grin.

"Berserker, I think I'll go get some sleep now..." Shirou said as part of his attempt to sneak away and prepare himself for the pain he was set to go through during the next day.

Also, the next day was a Sunday, which meant no classes.

Tohsaka won't let him escape, then.

"Go get your rest, Emiya-kun~" the third-rate magus's new Magecraft mentor told him with a sing-song tone that probably had a mental cackle hidden underneath it. "You'll need a lot of it."

"And I'll be keeping watch over you, kid," the new Magecraft mentor's tall accomplice added.

"Do as Lady Tohsaka says, Master," Berserker also told Shirou, and then he separated from his Master, stood up, and walked away. "I shall be keeping watch as well."

That response from the strangely behaving armored Servant didn't really put Shirou at ease, though. Archer's suspicious look didn't help, too.

Still, Shirou stood up to go to his bedroom and get some rest, for the day he had been through had been more tiring than he expected during the morning.

But the worry remained, for he knew that he hadn't gone deep into the Holy Grail War yet.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I remember noting down the premise for this during the previous uni semester, followed by starting up the writing for this in between writing  _Wandering Weiss_ , working on other Tobby works, and, of course, real life responsibilities. I haven't really gone through the light novel nor the anime of Fate/Apocrypha, though, but I did some research on the Servant called Saber of Red in canon with the help of the TYPE-MOON Wikia, which I'll certainly be referring to more in the future for the continued writing of this fanfic. If there are readers among you who are knowledgeable and willing enough, though, then I'll welcome help from you peeps as well.

And with that, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated!


	2. Rude Awakening

_I want to be like Father._

_"Will you stop it already?"_

_I want to inherit what is his someday._

_"I have told you that you are unfit to do so."_

_I know I am worthy._

_"You are not."_

_Deep down, he knows that as well._

_"Cease your delusions."_

_He has seen enough proof. I have given him enough proof. I have even lived serving him._

_"You do not know what you are babbling about."_

_So why? Why am I still not enough?_

_"Why, you ask?"_

_Why?_

* * *

"SHIROOOOOOOOOOOU!"

Shirou Emiya was used to girls waking him up.

See, as far he could remember, ever since he started living as Kiritsugu Emiya's adopted son, being woken up by girls eventually became something that often happened in his daily life.

And so far, the only girls who would wake him up in the morning were Taiga Fujimura (who acted more like a teenage girl than the adult woman she actually is) and Sakura Matou.

Indeed, that said something about how close they were to him. Not like he was  _that_ close to them, though. That would be very awkward, indeed...

Anyway, in this case, the former was the one who woke him up...and with a very painful smacking that he hadn't felt a lot ever since the early days of their sibling-like relationship.

"Wha...?"

But first, Shirou needed to get his sense of balance back straight. No way he could respond to Fuji-nee well without that, among other things.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, SLEEPING WITH A NAKED GIRL!?"

Okay, was he hearing things now? Was there a tiger growling something insane? Was Fuji-nee drunk or something? Really, he had a hard time processing everything...

Now, if he could only get his sense of balance back, at least...

"Whaaa..."

Man, everything seemed like it was kinda spinning...if only he knew some Magecraft that could cure dizziness...

"Ugh, who the hell is making that noise...? Tch, you better give me a good excuse to not kill you!"

"Wait, what? Whoa, you're not gonna beat me!"

Now that got Shirou's senses kicked into more consciousness. Trouble was brewing, and he, an aspiring Hero of Justice, had to stop it!

And so, the charged-up redhead jumped up to his feet and went with a separating push from each hand in between Fuji-nee and a strangely strong naked girl.

Wait, a naked girl? Who looks pretty much like a foreigner with blonde hair and green eyes?

And wow, she's got some strength in such a small frame...and why was she not kicking his face already for peeking!?

"DON'T WORRY, SHIROU!" Fuji-nee shouted as she easily broke free of Shirou's weakened grip. "I'LL SAVE YOU!"

And then Shirou got kicked in the face by Fuji-nee, knocking him down.

What he heard next was a noisy battle between two crazy females.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR DEFILING MY DEAR SHIROU!"

"AND YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR DISTURBING MY PRECIOUS SLEEP!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"EAT TH - Oof..."

And then there was the sound of a weighty something hitting the floor with a thud.

Judging from what recently transpired, said something was probably a knocked-out Fuji-nee.

"Good grief...and I thought things would go better if I stayed hidden..."

Shirou then heard the annoyed voice of Archer.

"What's going on? What is...Huh?"

"Eh? Senpai...Who...What...?"

There was also the hurried voice of Rin Tohsaka, and then there was the puzzled voice of Sakura Matou.

Shirou wanted to respond with words at least, but the only thing he managed to utter for the moment was a groan.

Oh well...at least Fuji-nee wasn't using that cursed shinai of hers...

"I'm...Rin's cosplayer friend..."

That was Archer speaking. Oh, and Sakura wasn't supposed to know about the Holy Grail War.

"I'm also good at martial arts...as you can see here..."

Shirou then heard the sound of a slap, followed by a mix of a groan and a growl.

Sounds like an irritated Tohsaka facepalmed, then.

"But who...who's that girl?" Sakura then asked, her voice sounding shaken.

"What did you say?"

And then Shirou felt a familiar murderous aura, something which forced his still spinning senses into some consciousness.

By the time the redhead had stood up and looked for the source of that aura, he found the naked girl on top of Sakura, collaring the purple-haired girl.

"What did you just call me, huh?" the blonde girl told Sakura, the former's face close to the latter's terrified face. "Say that again, you bitch."

""STOP!""

The blonde girl then turned her green - no,  _red-eyed_  glare to not one, but two distressed people.

Shirou found Tohsaka's distress a little strange, though, but what mattered right now was keeping Sakura from getting hurt.

And then it dawned on Shirou.

"You're..."

He couldn't say his own Servant's name out loud, though, not with Sakura around. But still, he remembered what Archer said about Mad Enhancement and Berserkers.

Shirou wasn't sure about whether or not there could be more than one Servant like this one, though. The Berserker he met last night was a polite young man, while this one was a rude girl.

"No, it couldn't be..." Shirou then said.

"GET OFF HER RIGHT NOW!"

"RIN!"

But as the doubting young man stood in place, the enraged school idol went out to charge at the likely Berserker Servant who tried to attack Sakura. Archer followed her with a shout as well, and as he went to approach...

...the rude and berserk girl suddenly became covered by Berserker's battlewear of gray metal and red fabric.

"What...?"

So... _she_ was Berserker?

"S-Senpai...?"

Shirou blinked, attention drawn by Sakura, who had sat up, looking at him while trembling on the floor.

Right, Sakura. He had to ensure her safety first.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" he asked, kneeling down to keep his eyes level with hers.

"I-I'm okay, Senpai..." she answered, "But what about you?"

"Well...it's nothing too big..." Shirou to tried to assure her with a fake smile that he knew he couldn't maintain thanks to his shaken senses.

And then there was the noise of things breaking outside his room.

Shirou then remembered his tattooed left hand and what his now crazed Servant told him the night before.

"Sorry, Sakura," the redhead then said, "But I'll have to leave you here for a while. I'll be helping Tohsaka and Archer out there."

"B-But!"

"Sorry!"

And Shirou stood up and ran, following the noise.

Once he reached the area where his armored Servant was, he raised his left hand and shouted.

**"DON'T USE YOUR MAD ENHANCEMENT, BERSERKER!"**

There was a glow from his left hand, and after that happened, Berserker stopped in the middle of throwing a punch, right as Tohsaka finished her backstep towards Archer.

Still, Shirou felt terror when his Servant's helmed head and glowing eyes turned to face him.

"Damn...you..."

And then with the red glow within her helm dying out, she crashed to the floor, metal and wood making noise.

Luckily, the only broken things in the room were the dining table and the few decorations on it.

With sighs of relief, Shirou and Tohsaka also hit the floor, but on their knees instead. Archer just straightened himself back from his combat stance as he sighed out his own relief.

As heavy breathing came out from the two second-years, the male one had his upper body reaching the floor as well.

"Emiya-kun!"

He closed his eyes, but he could still hear Tohsaka moving towards him, speaking words that tried to be certain of his safety and health.

Shirou appreciated his mutual crush's concern, but he also found it uneccessary.

"I'm...I'm okay...Tohsaka...Fuji-nee...just hit me...too hard..."

"You idiot!" the school idol shouted. "You're such an idiot that you...Ugh, stop making my life harder!"

Really, Tohsaka kept on surprising him...Was she really the real Rin Tohsaka? Shirou couldn't believe it.

"N - T-Tohsaka-san? S-Senpai? Are you okay?"

Shirou then heard Sakura. He wanted to answer, but his dizziness suddenly gave him a harder time, so he just let out a groan as he waited for his senses to properly get back into balance.

"I'll take care of them," entered Archer, who had introduced himself as a cosplayer friend with martial arts skills earlier. "They just need some rest."

"O-Okay..." Sakura complied. "Please care for them well..."

"I will...I will..." the tall man told the first-year as he picked Shirou up and carried him under one arm.

And then there was silence...well, mostly. He could hear Archer muttering about how much of a pain fixing and cleaning the dining room was going to be, and then there was his complaints about Fuji-nee, calling her crazy and all.

Shirou silently agreed with Archer's thoughts there.

Soon, the redhead was, surprisingly, gently placed onto the floor of his room, according to what his half-opened eyes managed to see for some moments.

"Heh, don't expect my Master to be by your side when you wake up, though," Archer jibed. "Still, I'll keep the crazy womanchild away from you."

Shirou then managed to feel the honesty from the snarky man, considering how he heard the sound of a body being picked up and moved away from the room.

With that, the boy who wanted to become a Hero of Justice let himself get some rest.

* * *

After he managed to put Fuji-nee and Rin in separate rooms, Archer then went to stand by the knocked-out Berserker. Fortunately, Sakura seemed to have managed to read the atmosphere, excusing herself as she told him about how she wanted to watch over the two females whom he carried to separate rooms.

She also called him "Cosplayer-san" along the way, reminding Archer about his awkward attempt at maintaining his cover.

Anyway, Sakura wouldn't be getting anything from Fuji-nee for a while, so it was likely that she wanted to visit Rin, who was still conscious and not as flopped as Fuji-nee and the kid. Some part of his blurry memories reminded him that there was something significant about Sakura and Rin as well, but he wanted to deal with the more concerning strangeness first.

Namely, it was his younger self's unexpected Berserker Servant.

The Counter Guardian named EMIYA was puzzled by her appearance. And yes, although her earlier shamelessness in terms of nudity was an awkward sight to behold, he still managed to know that they had faced a girl whose armor hid her biological gender very well.

Also, she looked like a certain blonde woman who also had green eyes.

Knowing all that, Archer had a very strong feeling about the identity of his younger self's Servant.

"Mordred...If that's the case, then what happened to Arturia?"

With crossed arms, the Wrought-Iron Hero looked at the likely Knight of Treachery, thinking about the possibilities related to Arturia's absence and Mordred's presence.

Was Arturia summoned by someone else? Well, there was Ilya...

Ilya...A possibility worth considering...and the most likely possibility...if Ilya was lucky enough to have something as powerful as Avalon as a catalyst. If she did get Arturia, then it's a good thing the kid and his stupid ways of trying to keep everyone safe worked well this time, as there would still be a considerable amount of trouble if Mordred went mad on Arturia, Mad Enhancement active or not.

But did the kid simply have a different catalyst, though? That was also possible, considering the Kaleidoscope, but it was something with low chances of happening, considering how his fate was so intertwined with Avalon and the woman it belonged to.

What about both of those factors being involved, then? That was also likely, but in the end, Archer was just throwing conjecture around without more solid proof.

Anyway, that was enough thinking about causes. Now was the time for thinking about the next course of action, which was much more difficult now thanks to Mordred being such an irritating Servant ever since she was summoned.

Really, bringing himself to attempt killing his younger self felt worse than killing himself now. Crazy homunculus knight had to expose Rin's feelings for the stupid kid, making Rin even more of an idiot, and Rin coming back alive from her trip to her house and back to this place last night was practically a reward for having to deal with all the bad luck he had to deal with before that.

Even though he was a lot more cynical now, EMIYA was still the same stupid self-sacrificing idiot, and he himself knew that. Trying to kill his younger self was not that surprising to him, then, let alone worrying for fellow idiots like Rin Tohsaka.

Yes, his loved ones were important, loathe as he was to admit it yet again. Even though he had blurry memories of them, he knew that he should care for them more than he cared for himself.

Indeed, that was the way Shirou Emiya worked, cynical Archer or not.

Suddenly, there was the sound of clinking and clanking metal touching broken wood, reminding Archer of the Servant of Madness and the wrecked state of the dining room.

Hmph, if the kid couldn't get his Servant to clean up the mess she made, then he, Archer, would get her to do it. And of course, he, Archer, would be doing cleanup as well, as he expected the crazy knight to try making even more of a mess out of spite.

He wouldn't kill her unless she went too out of hand, but as long as that wasn't happening, the alternate Shirou Emiya would make her suffer for wrecking a part of the beloved Emiya residence.

Besides, with the current circumstances, that was pretty much the best he could do without breaking his Master's heart.

"Damn idiot kid..."

Anyway, it was time to talk with the crazy knight.

"Now that's surprising," Archer began. "I was expecting longer, considering your Master."

Also, the alternate Shirou Emiya still wasn't above mocking himself.

"You trying to pick a fight, you bastard?" the Berserker answered, wobbling a little as she stood to her full height...which was still considerably shorter than Archer's.

Still, he was feeling some imposing aura from her, so she probably had the Charisma Skill.

"If you said a certain English translation of that, then I'd be saying  _'Says the bastard herself.'_ "

Of course, Arturia had better Charisma than Mordred. And leaving an opening to himself to get at his opponent wasn't something he did in physical combat only.

"You trying to call me something?" the Berserker approached, sneering up at Archer as she clenched her fists and raised her shoulders.

No longer was she the polite knight from last night, indeed.

"Yeah, I spoke English," he told her. " _What, did you forget all your knightly English?_ "

" _You don't deserve that sort of talk from me, you insolent slave!_ " she shot back in English, stepping back as she summoned her sword - clearly Clarent, which her identity concealment couldn't hide from his Tracing, but he won't be telling her that - and pointed it at him. " _And I'll make sure to kill you slowly and painfully when I get all my strength back,_ " she also seethed.

"Can't take the fact that I knew your true name so easily?" Archer replied, switching to Japanese for a while with a smrik. "Heh...looks you have bad luck made worse, then.  _We're two peas in a pod, fellow insolent slave._ "

"Why you..."

A red glow then started streaming out from the front holes of her helm.

Still, Archer wasn't fazed, for as soon as that glow streamed out, it died out quickly, and Mordred fell on all fours, as if she was in pain.

"Damn it!" she growled, and then she slammed a metal-covered fist on an undamaged part of the wooden floor, still managing to smash through it even without her Mad Enhancement. "Damn Master gave that damn command and now I'm damned for the rest of this War!"

"Alright, Mo-chan," EMIYA sighed, fully back to speaking his native language, and then he cheekily called. "It's time to clean up this mess now. Make sure to follow my instructions, or else I'll give you less food for lunch. And trust me, I'm a very good cook as well."

And as he started the cleanup, the snickering Archer ignored the roaring Berserker's stream of curses.

Seeing her still following him anyway, although with her muttering curses, had the older Shirou thanking his younger self for doing something surprisingly smart.

Though honestly, it was hard to watch a Berserker be forced against their nature like that.

Really, watching Heracles go smash and dash, although scarier, felt more natural...

Anyway, time to focus on work...

* * *

"T-Tohsaka-san..."

Rin held a sigh back as she heard and saw her estranged younger sister. She was expecting something like this, considering her observations of Sakura's interactions with Shirou Emiya at school, but she didn't expect nor welcomed how things had gone recently.

Her blood sister wasn't supposed to be her responsibility anymore, but there were times when Rin couldn't help worrying and caring for her. Sakura may have become a Matou, but what she had with Rin and the rest of the Tohsakas back then were things she still cherished. It was just that she never admitted them out loud, not when she had an image to uphold for her late father's sake.

Thinking about that, well, Rin felt even more foolish than she already was with all the impulses she acted on lately. No wonder Archer called it a chain of mistakes...

Anyway, it wasn't the first time when Rin felt hatred for how complicated her family was with the ways of magi in their lives. She loved her father, but she also loved her mother and her sister.

Yes, Rin was used to the loneliness, but that didn't mean that she lost her hatred for it.

And now, her nervous sister, hair and eyes now colored purple instead of black and blue, was just looking at her, as if she wasn't sure about what to say.

Honestly, Rin also felt the same. She was just better at hiding it. She was looking up at the ceiling, face probably looking like she didn't care for Sakura anymore.

But she did care for Sakura. Rin just didn't want to show a lack of composure. Right now, getting roughed up by that fistfight with that Mad-Enhanced Berserker was enough, and she didn't want to show anything more than some slowness of movement because of how her smacked limbs were being stung by pain.

And then there was Sakura's safety in the ongoing Grail War. Damn complicated situation, indeed.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" the older sister eventually asked. She was also surprised that Sakura hadn't left after what was probably a long while of thinking.

"E-Eh?" was the younger sister's response.

At that, Rin felt more irritation at herself. She felt the barrier of lies she made for herself cracking, the guilt she hid deep down seeping out again.

And then she remembered healing a critically injured Shirou Emiya with the stored magic in her pendant. A part of her claimed that she did it for Sakura's sake, but another part of her seemed to be mocking her, saying that she wanted Shirou for herself, calling it an easy way to forget her worries about Sakura.

Yeah, Rin herself did have a crush on Shirou. She still did, even though he was an idiot whom she wanted to clobber over and over, but with Sakura's presence, the current Tohsaka head tried to set those feelings aside...even though it was more difficult to do so now.

Really, she hated her complicated feelings. Why couldn't life be so simple?

And then there was Archer and that Berserker to worry about. She hoped that those two weren't making a mess.

"I...I'm okay..." Rin then heard her sister say.

At that point, the older sister had found some more ease in admitting that yes, Sakura was probably lying...and not just about her condition after being threatened by that actually female Berserker.

Rin didn't want to dive deeper into that, though. The guilt would probably grow too big for her to handle.

"Just tell me if you need help from me, okay?" the Tohsaka head then said, eyes on Sakura.

Sakura probably knew some things about the Grail War, but Rin dearly hoped that she was just a non-combatant.

After all the unfortunate events that happened ever since Shirou Emiya started to get involved in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Rin felt like her heart would end up breaking down if she ever needed to harden her heart and face Sakura as an enemy in the War.

So right now, she shouldn't be trying to look under her younger sister's long-sleeved clothing for signs of a Command Spell. If the older sister herself did that, then that would be a faux pas in multiple ways, not just to their relationship as blood siblings.

Considering how that sleaze named Shinji, a possible Master as well, treated Sakura at school, trying to interfere overtly would likely attract harmful attention. And of course Rin knew about the Matou magic and that decrepit old man, as she was studious...and concerned. She just didn't like reminding herself nor talking out loud about those topics.

Well, there goes the guilt again, seeping out of the depths of her heart and messing with her mind.

And when Rin noticed Sakura sitting on the floor by the bed, hugging her knees to her face, the older sister realized that they had been sharing silence for a while. That, and they were probably angsting together as well.

Oh, who was she kidding, they were certainly angsting together.

Maybe she should wait for Sakura to speak up...but that sounded like something that didn't fit with a good older sister's attitude...

"Thank you..."

"Hm?"

Sakura then noticed Rin looking when the former said her thanks, but she quickly looked down and away with embarrassment.

The older sister smiled at that.

"You're welcome, Sakura," she said.

"I...I'll be going now..." Sakura replied, standing up, still looking down and away. "I'm going to check on Senpai."

With that, the younger sister left the room.

Meanwhile, setting aside thoughts about further attempts at sibling relationship reparation for later, Rin went from thinking about taking advantage of Kirei Kotomine's dislike for Zouken Matou to checking on Shirou Emiya, Archer, and Berserker.

And speaking of having the third-rate magus of a Master filled in some more about the Holy Grail War, Rin was still adamant on doing it herself despite protests from her petty side, which called for revenge against how he and his crazy Servant ruined her Grail War plans. Visiting the fake priest would probably make her crush stupider, considering how her guardian seemed to have a sadomasochistic streak to him.

Rin still couldn't believe how he could survive eating a mountain of hot spice, let alone have the guts to casually offer some to her...

Anyway, it was time to check on those three idiots and her sister.

And so, Rin got off from her bed, straightening her red turtleneck and her black miniskirt before she exited the room.

Still, she felt like she was forgetting someone...

* * *

When Taiga (not "Tiger," which she should never be called by) Fujimura woke up, her head was throbbing.

Did she drink too much again? Well, although it was her day-off, she didn't remember going to some party or something which included alcohol the night before, so that was out...

Wait...the room...

"...Why am I on a bed in Shirou's house?" she asked herself as her recovering senses focused on her surroundings.

But still, there was something more important that she had to think about...

"Why am I in Shirou's house again...?" the high school English teacher then asked. "Of course there's food, but there's something more important I think I'm forgetting..."

It had something to do with her dizziness, that's for sure...but what was it?

" _I'm not some peasant you can order around!_ " an unfamiliar female voice shouted in English. And was that a British accent there?

Wait a minute...

Foreigner?

Female?

Naked foreign girl sleeping with Shirou?

Taiga wasted no time for saving her precious little brother figure, slamming the sliding door open and charging towards her target.

" _DIVINE PUNISHMENT!_ " the angry English teacher shouted in the language in which she specialized.

Unfortunately, the target had bent backward, avoiding Taiga's jump kick.

Still, even if her target was now doing some really convincing knight cosplay, one which also made her feminine face have an aura of masculinity, punishment was still in order.

As long as she was under the watch of the Fujimura yakuza princess, that foreigner girl won't be getting away with her defiling of Taiga's dear Shirou!

"Stand still and accept your punishment!" the punisher in a green and yellow dress shouted as she went to swing punches and kicks at the armored pervert.

"Not this woman again!" the target exclaimed, jumping away with a broom in her hands.

And even though that cosplayer girl was able to dodge well, Taiga would use all her strength to -

"Alright, that's enough, ladies," said a deep and manly voice as the determined punisher found herself flailing her limbs wastefully, all while the back of her dress was clutched by the source of said voice.

The mentioned voice source was a tall man with tanned skin, white hair, gray eyes, and a red and gray set of fabric and metal...and if that was cosplay, then he was probably quite a rich guy as well, considering how the metal parts looked like they had the sheen of actual metal.

Also, said man had a fit figure and a chiseled face with subtle Japanese features, and strangely, he wasn't holding the other female in his other hand.

In fact, the cosplaying foreigner girl was just held back by a hand on a broom raised to block further personal space intrusion.

"Hey, why are you making me look like the bad guy here!?" the English teacher complained, flailing her limbs some more as she uselessly tried to reach for the man who held on to her while keeping the rest of his body distant from her limbs.

"You've caused a mess already, and I won't stand for all your crazy," the annoying but kinda handsome man answered.

"But that perverted foreigner girl!" Taiga pointed, and the subject of her index finger eventually made the broomstick snap into two pieces.

"DON'T CALL ME A GIRL, YOU DUMBASS!" the foreigner girl then shouted. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU IF YOU SAY THAT AGAIN!"

"WELL, TRY ME, THEN!" the defending big sister figure shouted back, flailing harder.

"OH, YOU ASKED FO - Ow!"

And the enraged foreigner got a fist slamming on to the top of her head.

"Cleanup time," the man said with closed eyes, one of them twitching. "Now. Or else you won't be getting any good food later. Let it be known that I'm a very good cook, and the kid who owns this house can attest to that."

""Oh really?"" the two females doubted in unison.

"Archer, what are you doing?"

Everyone then turned to look at a very familiar girl standing in front of the shy Sakura Matou.

"Rin Tohsaka?" Taiga asked, and then, with a sheepish expression, "Oh, I'm so sorry for the disturbance here. I didn't know that you would be visiting while a certain pervert here was trying to defile my dear Shirou."

"Hey, what's with that special treatment?" the foreigner girl barked. "That girl's a witch, you know. Found out about it last night."

"She's way more trustworthy than you, you pervert!" Taiga barked back. "I'll have you know that she's a very good student of mine, and that she's one girl I'd trust to have around Shirou!"

"Ugh..." the foreigner girl groaned, "This house is full of idiots..."

"I'm trying to get these two to help in cleaning up their mess," the man named Archer replied to Ms. Tohsaka.

Taiga wanted to defend herself, but Rin Tohsaka's presence was putting pressure on her. Sure, the teacher knew that she could be a little flaky at school and even crazier at home, but acting more like that in front of a very trusted honor student of a visitor - unless Ms. Tohsaka managed to was trying to seduce Shirou (because there was no way that Taiga would believe that Shirou could even make the first move on a girl) - was something she considered very humiliating, indeed.

She'd deliver justice upon that pervert, still...There was the cleanup, after all...

"I'll help!" Taiga then declared with a raised hand and a very wide smile. "And I'll make sure to help our perv - I mean, foreigner friend here, too!

"Well, that's great, then," Mr. Archer replied with a cool smile, and wow, did that show more of his handsomeness!

"I shall be helping out as well," Ms. Tohsaka also added, and before Taiga could express how she didn't want to add a burden on such an honorable visitor, "I also caused this mess, believe it or not. With that, I am willing to pay for replacement furniture and such."

"I'll help, too!" Sakura followed, making large cracks on her shyness, though she still looked like she wanted to shrivel back into her shell with the little twitches on her face.

"I think it would be a better idea if you all just stay put and leave this to me," the tall and tan man then declared, arms crossed. "Considering the shed here, there may be some tools and materials I can use for repairs."

"Hey, stop ignoring me, you idiots!"

And then Taiga was feeling overwhelmed, the perverted foreigner's complaining presence not bothering her as much.

"I'm surrounded by such good people!" the teacher then cried with tears of joy.

"I said stop ignori - Ow!"

"Now get to work."

Indeed, Taiga Fujimura was feeling the rightful service of justice!

If Kiritsugu were still alive to witness this, then Taiga was certain that he would feel so proud!

But still...she felt like she was forgetting something important...

* * *

When Shirou woke up feeling more focused, his ears picked up the rough sounds of things being moved and the distant sounds of shouts being exchanged.

Judging from the not so tense arrangement of the sounds, it seemed to be the arrangement of a bunch of people doing some housework, and not some bloodthirsty warriors in a free-for-all, which Shirou feared for a while as he walked towards the area where all those sounds came from.

"Hey, Buzzer-chan!" carried the voice of the green-and-yellow-wearing Taiga Fujimura, whom Shirou often called "Fuji-nee."

"I told you to stop calling me that!" shouted the blonde and ponytailed girl who had introduced herself as Berserker the other night. Surprisingly, she was wearing casual clothing - an oversized white t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts, specifically.

But the most surprising in terms of appearance was Archer, who was wearing a bandana and a face mask along with his combat outfit.

"Stop bickering and help me out with moving all these broken things out!" the tall man shouted as he carried the pieces of the smashed dining table out, his voice a little muffled by his face mask, and then he noticed Shirou. "Help me out here, kid! This house won't be fixing itself anytime soon!"

Again, Shirou had some mixed emotions. Why would someone like Archer even bother to fix his house, let alone get help for such a thing?

"Don't worry, 'cause justice is being served, Shirou!" Fuji-nee declared to him, and then she pointed at the annoyed Servant who currently wasn't covered in metal all over. "Just leave Buzzer-chan here to me!"

"Yeah, keep talking,  _Tiger!_ " retorted Berserker (whose nickname began to make sense to her Master) without any shame.

"Oh, you're asking for it!"

And then the two childish females charged at each other, ending up in a deadlock as Taiga tightly held Berserker's arms back.

As the two glared at each other with bared teeth and locked arms, Shirou went nervous as he saw Berserker's eyes flash red, but that nervousness quickly faded into surprise as Berserker suddenly flinched and got herself pushed back and down by Fuji-nee.

"Haha!" exclaimed the woman who hated being called "Tiger." "Victory is mine!"

"Not until you help, you don't!" Archer shouted from an unseen but nearby area in the house.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Mr. Archer!" Fuji-nee shouted back as she kept a still glaring Berserker pinned down. "Shirou, you better help Mr. Archer out there!" Shirou's big sister figure added with a serious look at him. "I'll deal with this purity thief here! Ow!"

Shirou stared at the duo he was to leave behind, the foreign female biting the Japanese female's arm.

"Uhh...where are Tohsaka and Sakura, though?" the redheaded owner of the house asked, having one more question to ask before he left the childish females behind with concern.

"We're right here, Emiya-kun," the twin-tailed school idol answered as she drank a cup of tea by the yard.

"Sammo-san and Archer-san told us to...to r-relax for a while..." the purple-haired junior followed, the tips of her index fingers close to each other as she gave a worried look at the scene behind her.

"Don't...Don't think this redeems you!" the fighting Fuji-nee replied with a grunt for a while, hitting Berserker's face in her attempts to remove the biting girl's teeth off. "Ugh, get off!"

"Okay..." Shirou answered with uncertainty, having difficulty with processing that question, especially while watching Fuji-nee quarreling with a  _Servant._

"Kid, get over here!" the redhead then heard Archer shout. "You don't need to worry about those two, especially with how you stopped Buzzer-chan!"

"Not you too!" Berserker shouted with further irritation.

And with Archer's words there, Shirou remembered the Command Spell he used on her, something he thought of with the heat of the moment plus what he remembered about Command Spells the other night...and the latter was something which Berserker herself told him.

How ironic, indeed.

"Shirou delivered justice!? Ooh, Kiritsugu would be so proud!"

"Whaddaya mean by 'justice'? This is injustice, you rabid Tiger! Now get off me!"

And so, Shirou, although still concerned for the two and what trouble they could cause, moved away to help Archer out.

But a few steps into doing so, Archer walked past him, his hurried steps carrying his annoyance.

Upon Archer's arrival at the messed-up dining room, Fuji-nee and Berserker were picked up by the backs of the upper halves of their clothing, the latter getting a smack to the back of her head before getting picked up.

Then, he turned around, and with a frowning expression...

"It's time to get to work...or else no one will be eating today."

Well, it was somewhat weird seeing Tohsaka's Servant being that serious about housework, but hey, Shirou appreciated such seriousness, considering how he treated housework as well.

Still, what a morning, indeed...and he hadn't even known why Fuji-nee and Sakura dropped by during a weekend morning yet!

"Wait a minute, WHY IS RIN TOHSAKA HERE!?"

"Finally, an idiot gets it! That's also my cue to exit and watch everything burn!"

"Ah, so that's why I felt like I was forgetting something..."

And that was just the beginning of a very long day.

* * *

_"Fa...ther..."_

_That knight is still not worthy to be king, even if he is my son...or daughter...though she probably wouldn't allow herself to be called as such, considering how brash she is inside the pub and within the battlefield..._

_"How...How am I not...worthy...?"_

_She can ask that, but it is too late for her already. It is too late for me as well._

_"I want to be...a worthy...king..."_

_She still does not understand what it means to be king. Her emotions control her so much._

_"Tell me...Father..."_

_Yet, those emotions of hers are the subject of my envy as well. If I had become king while being so human...would the kingdom have become better?_

_"Tell...me..."_

_No. I have seen how emotions have driven the kingdom apart._

_"I wish..."_

_But I still wish that I had never become king..._

_"...to be worthy..."_

_...for today has shown my unworthiness._

* * *

And with tears filling up and streaming out of her eyes, Ilyasviel von Einzbern woke up, lying on her bedroom in her family's castle in the Fuyuki City forests.

"We have suffered so much, no?" she then heard her Servant say.

Ilya's answer to that was a tearful embrace, for she didn't know what to say in the face of what she had just witnessed in that dream.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Mad Mordred has finally appeared! And complete with cussing too!

Also, this story will be told from multiple viewpoints! Complexity Increased!

So yo, I guess I didn't really establish the implied reasoning behind the Knight of Treachery's weird behavior during the previous chapter as clearly and smoothly as I thought...but believe it or not, I had already planned on having that OOC-ness broken down from this chapter onward even before I posted the first chapter. Still, I would like thank reviewers like Taromaru and JMP3 for reminding me of the importance of experience with the source material, which can lead to better fine control on reinterpretations of it.

Oh, and while working on this, I think I found myself growing a writing style that tends to whip between drama and comedy. I'm not sure about what to think about that yet, though.

So yeah, with that, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and highly appreciated!


	3. Broken Pride

"Illya?"

"Huh?"

Illyasviel von Einzbern blinked, breaking out of another length of distant staring out into the Japanese woods where her hideout for the Fifth Holy Grail War was situated.

"What do you wish to do for today?" her blonde Servant asked, standing by as Illya sat on the steps to the great front doors of the castle.

"Oh...I..."

If she were honest, she would have told Saber that she wanted to see her Papa, but Illya didn't want her Servant to know that.

After all, she noticed how this figure named King Arthur (and yes, it was also a surprise for Illya's more learning self to be reminded about how that pretty woman from years ago was actually  _King Arthur_ ) wore a frown on her face whenever Kiritsugu Emiya was mentioned.

In fact, Saber had been very discouraging of Illya's interest in Kiritsugu Emiya, which was worsened when Illya told Saber of how her Papa managed to return Saber's catalyst and Noble Phantasm, Avalon, back to the Einzberns years ago.

In all honesty, even though she thanked Saber for saving her from the wolves – both literal and figurative – after she managed to summon her, and even though she knew of Saber's tragic past, Illya still very much disliked her Servant's overprotective streak. Saber didn't understand that her Papa didn't forget her daughter, and that even if that stupid old man Acht kept them apart, her Papa would still do whatever it took to get whatever they could save of their family together again, even if the dumb old man's yapping all the way from Germany never stopped. And even though Mama was gone, Illya felt like she was always with them, kindness never stopping its flow down the generations...

And to top it all off, Saber talked as if she knew what her previous Master had done during the previous War. The Einzberns knew that Servants were simply copies of their legends, copies which shouldn't retain memories of previous summonings and Wars.

Saber didn't seem like she knew that fact, but if she did, then she probably considered it trivial.

Still, that Overseer, Kirei Kotomine, knew her Papa.

_"I knew your father, young Lady Einzbern. I was also a Master in the previous War, after all. He was quite an interesting man, even though I was defeated by him."_

That was part of what the priest said, and even though it was clear that he was hiding something suspicious (She managed to see traces of a smile similar to Old Man Acht's usual smiles after she revealed more about her heritage), he was Illya's only accessible lead on her father so far.

"If it would be a better course of action," Saber continued, noticing Illya's doubtful expression, "I would suggest - "

"Sella," Illya decided to call.

"Yes, Lady Illyasviel?" one of the two homunculus maids responded, stepping forward with her hard face.

"Carry me, please," Illya requested. "You're going to carry me somewhere."

"As you wish," Sella obeyed without much question, though she did have a raised eyebrow at Illya.

"Illya, what are you doing?" Saber asked, suspicion up on her face already as she hunched forward.

"Leysritt," the little Master then called next.

"What are your orders, Lady Illyasviel?" the homunculus maid with a cold and robotic tone asked in return, stepping forward as well.

"Do keep Saber distracted...and get running now, Sella."

"Illya!"

And so went Illyasviel von Einzbern's escape for the day.

She also hoped that Saber would understand...especially after Illya saw that dream the previous night.

* * *

"So, explain yourselves."

Silence reigned in response to the petulant English teacher's order. Archer also wasn't there to help keep her quiet either, though he was currently in the room, but in spirit form.

Shirou felt irritation at the guy when he found out that Archer excused himself to change his clothes, only to come back in spirit form.

To make matters worse, even Tohsaka backed the guy up!

_"Oh, he likes running off on his own after work to relax. It tends to be irritating, I know."_

Despite the backhanded help which Archer groaned at, Tohsaka still managed to cover for her Servant.

Still, Shirou knew that he had a lot of fault in the current day's chaos. Fuji-nee and Sakura weren't supposed to know about the Grail War, after all, and Shirou got them in danger because of him and his Servant.

Speaking of Shirou's Servant, though, she was sitting beside him, slouching forward, one cheek supported by an arm on the low table they were all sitting around.

Berserker was also glaring, particularly at Taiga and Shirou.

Well, he would deal with his Servant later, then. For now, he needed to defuse this situation further...

"I'm sorry for my friend's behavior!" Shirou then said, going on all fours and keeping his eyes aimed at the ground. "She's – ow – She's one of the old man's friends and I just met her last night!"

The regretful Master of Berserker also ignored the kicking coming from his side.

"Really, Shirou?" he then heard Fuji-nee's doubting voice. "Then why did I find her sleeping beside you  _naked_?"

To be honest, Shirou didn't know either. Still...

"I don't know! I just met her last night!"

...Berserker's kicking aside, this was for their safety.

"Hey, is that any way to treat your host, Buzzer-chan?" Fuji-nee then called out, giving Shirou a sigh of relief while his older sister figure also let out a sigh that seemed to sound like "Kiri, what sort of friends have you been making...?"

If Fuji-nee did say that, then Shirou would've called her out on that as well.

"Alright, fine..." Berserker then declared, not even bothering to make eye contact, "I'm sorry for trashing the place and forgetting to warn this guy over here about my attitude...and I'm sorry for that attitude when someone interrupts my sleep, which I was having in  _the room next door_."

"I am very very sorry for my friend's behavior!" Shirou repeated with a shout. "Please, Fuji-nee, have mercy! We still have other guests!"

And so, Shirou spent some more time enduring kicks and nervousness.

"Alright, Shirou...but still, what is Ms. Tohsaka doing here so early in the morning?"

Fortunately, Fuji-nee had a very soft spot for him...but unfortunately, there was still the question of Tohsaka's presence.

"Oh, I wanted to confess to Emiya-kun here, which I did, but since it was late, he offered me to stay here. I didn't know that he had a visitor sleeping next to his room, though..."

Tohsaka was having fun with this, wasn't she?

"...But if there's anything good about him, it's that he's very loyal. With that, I'm sure that he would never ever intend to cheat on me."

That was quite some cover, indeed, but Shirou couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

Oh, and Berserker was also snickering. Archer also seemed to snickering along, too, and it  _echoed_.

Well, as long as Tohsaka didn't have any nefarious plans for the Grail, then he wouldn't mind owing her that much.

"Okay, shocking news aside, you can sit back up now, Shirou."

Shirou followed Fuji-nee, and then he met a sad face, which was also looking away.

"I guess I have to accept that my little brother is growing up now...Time flies, indeed!"

The redhead could only laugh awkwardly at that.

Meanwhile, Sakura had the sort of sad expression that was actually concerning. She was just looking at the faces of the people around her, not saying much, but then...

"W-We should eat the food Archer-san prepared for us, then..." Sakura said, looking down.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that!" Fuji-nee then shouted, causing Shirou to worry more for her.

Shirou worried even more when Fuji-nee and Berserker – whom Shirou had to remember to call "Sammo" (which was a mispronunciation by Sakura that Berserker rolled with) for secrecy's sake – dominated the table and ate all the food.

It should also be noted that Archer prepared a meal that was a borderline buffet, taking pretty much all of the ingredients from Shirou's kitchen to cook what was probably brunch already, considering the time of day.

"Would my wallet be able to handle the next days, then...?" Shirou asked himself.

And again, he hadn't even had a proper deathmatch with another Master-Servant pair yet.

* * *

On a day that was supposed to be one relaxing visit to her Senpai's place and a precious reprieve from her vile house, Sakura Matou was feeling very tense.

Taiga-sensei was already a given source of tension, being someone Sakura was used to as long as she didn't pry too deep into the Matou family affairs.

But then all those expectations of having a day with less tension in her life crumbled when she checked on her Senpai, who certainly hadn't been sleeping in his shed again the previous night.

That deviation from the usual brought along the fact that he was certainly a Master in the Fifth Holy Grail War, and that he had a  _Berserker_ as a Servant.

If she could express herself enough without too much consequence, then she would have cried on the spot back then.

"Hey, you jackass, leave some for the others!"

"Alright, you Tiger, I'll leave a bunch for this little lady over here!"

Now, though, her Senpai's Berserker simply weirded her out.

Well, as long as Senpai's Command Spell held, then perhaps interacting with her some more wouldn't hurt.

The next person who brought her tension was her older sister, who somehow still cared for her -

_"But why did she leave you alone for such a long time?"_

\- who somehow still wanted to care for her -

_"What if that cover story she used for herself and Senpai actually had some truth in it?"_

\- whom Sakura still had conflicting feelings about somehow.

Still, she had to admit that her older sister's Servant was a good cook, among other admirable things about him.

And sure, he looked like a jaded man, but Sakura could see that he cared for others very much.

If he weren't, then why would he have bothered, without even consulting his Master, to fix her Senpai's house in the first place, taking all the burden while letting the others recover?

"Aren't you going to eat, Sakura?"

"Oh! S-Senpai...uhm...I'll be eating, don't worry..."

Oh well, it could've been worse.

And so, Sakura went on to eat the brunch her older sister's Archer cooked.

"Would you like some...Tohsaka-san?"

"...Sure."

Maybe the hope she could hold on to was larger than she thought as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, Arturia Pendragon was not having a good day.

"WILL YOU CEASE YOUR SWINGING!?"

The homunculus maid bent on distracting her with halberd swings was just a small part of that.

And so, as the re-summoned Servant Saber swung against Leysritt's halberd with Invisible Air, she stomped out of the Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki with clothes that were most certainly included by Illya to make her give in to unreasonable demands.

Indeed, Saber knew the importance of disguise, especially with her inability to enter spirit form, but she knew that her Master was clearly out to get her because of how short the outfit was.

To be more specific, Illya's stock of disguise clothes for Saber consisted  _only of maid outfits._

Now, Saber would have more easily accepted such disguises  _only if the skirts were of more acceptable length._

With that, every swing of Invisible Air was an addition to Saber's aggravation.

Eventually, she realized that she could actually keep Leysritt distracted enough for her to escape.

**"STRIKE AIR!"**

And then she ran with the help of Prana Burst.

Fortunately, she could do that without much concern for public attention in the forest.

Still, she felt her broken pride breaking into smaller and smaller pieces.

But if it weren't Illya, who once had Irisviel as her mother, Saber would have given up already.

* * *

When Sella returned to the Einzbern Castle, trying to catch her breath after doing some Reinforced running, she was met with the sight of a broken wall beyond the open doors of the castle.

That pile of stone also had Leysritt breaking out of it when Sella approached it.

Suddenly, that rushing bullet of wind and prana which came out of the forest made more sense to Sella.

Anyway, it was time to deliver the Lady Einzbern's new set of orders to her mostly emotionless partner, while the Servant Saber was now allowed to find Lady Illyasviel unimpeded.

"LEYSRITT, STOP SWINGING! IT'S ME, SELLA!"

"Oh. I. Am very. Sorry."

Of course, there was the usual trouble with her partner.

* * *

As for Kirei Kotomine, he saw the rising chances of a good day. And it wasn't like the rising of the sun every morning, either.

To be more exact, the rising was more akin to a rocket accelerating into outer space and the great beyond, which was pretty much a gigantic void filled with deadly gas and debris.

But then again, Kirei Kotomine enjoyed such realizations, especially when other people were going through it.

"So will you show me where Papa and my Onii-chan lives?"

The point of the matter, though, is that certain plans of his were coming to fruition.

He saw an opportunity when the Einzbern homunculus in front of him declared himself to be Kiritsugu Emiya's daughter.

Indeed, it was such a surprise, finding out that the man whom he once thought empty even had a child with that Grail vessel from the Fourth War!

And even more surprising was the child's hero-worship towards her father!

He did not let it show back then, though, but once he returned to his quarters, knowing that the Einzbern Master had left far enough after she registered for the War, he laughed the loudest he had ever laughed in his life.

Kirei knew of the misery which plagued Kiritsugu Emiya until his death, and considering such a curse, he found it enough for the man already. He also knew that the older Emiya had died, leaving his rescued and adopted son, Shirou, one of the orphans from the Great Fuyuki Fire, orphaned yet again.

But it seemed that Kiritsugu Emiya had more remaining family than Kirei thought...and then there was Lancer's interesting bits of information regarding the adopted Emiya boy and his Servant.

Rin hadn't even taken the Emiya boy to the Kotomine Church yet, but with this opportunity presented to him by the young Einzbern lady...

"Perhaps a friendly visit would be in order, then."

...he would certainly take this opportunity to cause misery.

* * *

Berserker Mordred, going by the nickname "Sammo" (She would rather be called "Sir Mo" than those insulting nicknames, but "Sammo" wasn't too bad an alternative either), wondered if she could withdraw that contract with the World.

Said contract was formed by a desperate plea from a thoroughly humiliated "son" of King Arthur, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Now, she was in a Holy Grail War, a Servant among seven with Masters of their own, and she would win it to be able to get the chance to challenge the sword of appointment!

"Emiya-kun, what are we going to do now?"

"Uhh...I..."

Times like these, though, made her wonder about whether she could withdraw that damn contract.

What made it worse was the fact that she went overcautious and overconfident after realizing that she did gain a second chance.

Convincing the Archer who clearly had beef against her dumb Master? Easy. The other Servant had more murderous intent on the guy than she did back then, but she just needed to remind him about the existence of her wish and the interests of his Master.

Trying to spend precious moments feeling detached from the stuffiness of her hard armor and her sticky underwear in the room right next to her Master's by sleeping naked? Big mistake. Or maybe that Tiger was a special kind of dumb who had no sense of privacy.

And because of that, Mordred was now forced to feel abdominal pain akin to the pain associated with a woman's lunatic cycle.

Frankly, it was humiliating.

Yes, the incident proved how Mordred could use the Tohsaka witch's ego against her, but still, it was humiliating.

Mordred also wondered if the World was just her mother casting an illusion on her.

Yeah, that seemed more plausible.

But then again, her mother certainly wouldn't have known about such advanced technology, and even if she did, then that would still prove that Mordred had traveled through time and space to fight in a Holy Grail War in the far future and in some foreign country.

And so, along with not risking killing herself by draining her measly mana to break out of his Command Spell, she settled on spending her post-meal rest (which also included a protest for the surprising lack of her Master's surprisingly good food) by rhythmically kicking her Master's leg as she leaned on a wall until he came to his senses and released her from his damn restraints.

She swung her foot back and forth between the wall and his leg, swinging it like a restricted sort of pendulum.

Even though she was downgraded and couldn't use Mad Enhancement without risking torturous pain at the moment, she could still fight.

After all, brute force wasn't the only thing one had to have in order to start a rebellion.

"Emiya-kun, I honestly find you pitiful right now."

Mordred hated agreeing with the gullible yet dangerous witch, but her goody-two-shoes Master was a doormat, and it meant that she could still get him steering towards the fulfillment of her wish.

Failed deception and accursed luck be damned as well!

"...I need to buy food?" was what ended up coming out of the dumb Master's mouth.

"Very pitiful..." the witch repeated with added emphasis, a clearly mocking smile on her face.

"Can we talk about this later, then?" the dumb Master then begged in a whisper, referring to the close calls he had been causing because of those two non-participants, who were currently washing dishes. "Sakura and Fuji-nee might hear us..."

A sigh was shared in response to that.

"Alright, later, then," the witch agreed. "I'll have Archer keep watch on you as well, to make sure you shut your mouth as much as it should and keep your end of the bargain."

"Alright..." the redheaded fool complied with a hanging head. "I'll go help Sakura and Fuji-nee with the dishes and all, then..."

That wasn't somewhere Mordred was going to next, though.

Really, that Sakura girl was nice, but Mordred had had enough of that pesky Tiger, and that Archer should just follow his Master's orders more strictly.

"I'll just stand by the gate outside, then," the restrained Berserker declared, but not too loudly, of course, still seeing some importance in her Master and their allies, but requiring some space for her to breathe and think better. "Call me if you need me, my stupid Master."

And his lack of retort to that further solidified his pitiful image in her eyes.

Indeed, Mordred felt that, in hindsight, she shouldn't have even bothered holding back her cockiness in the first place.

Now, time to head out and stand by for a while...walk through halls, open the door, unlock the gate, and...

"Huh?"

"Pardon our intrusion, but this young lady here wishes to seek the owner of this house."

...there was a little girl and a priest.

"ILLYA!"

There was also a shout that sounded eerily familiar...

"Oh no, she's coming!" the little girl exclaimed, looking at random directions in fear until she settled on Mordred. "Hide me, please!"

Mordred, despite her infamous past and deep-seated resentment, still valued the ideals of a knight.

And so, another guest intruded into the Emiya Residence.

Well, to be exact, they hid in the shed. Mordred wanted to relax, this Illya girl needed to hide, and the shed killed two birds with one stone.

The Knight of Treachery, as part of said relaxation, also kicked the rusted doors aside to bounce off the walls of the residence yard as if they were soccer balls.

She didn't care if she made noise! She deserved to relax, and she won't let anyone get in her way!

"You look like a cool girl, Miss!" the Illya girl then declared with a bright smile on her face.

"If you weren't a young lady, I would've killed you for calling me that," Mordred answered, eyes closed as she lied down on the shed where her dumb Master ended up summoning her.

"Eh? You don't like being called 'cool'?"

"I don't like being called a girl, little lady."

"Ehhh? Because we're weak? No way! Mama was cool, and so am I!"

Mordred knew the evolution of the term "cool" through the knowledge she obtained from the Grail for the sake of fitting into the time and place she was summoned in, but she kept silent...mostly because she didn't want to show herself blushing at the praise.

Now, it was time to appreciate this precious relaxation time some more before it ended up shattered yet again.

* * *

As for Rin, she decided to take relief in her physical distance from her dumb partners-in-crime, her face only showing sharpened eyes and a hard frown high above crossed arms because of Emiya-kun's idiocy that was also making her more of an idiot.

And now that she thought about it some more, Rin was feeling dumber for having overlooked Emiya-kun and his Servant when she got back to his house...and trying to consider the possibility of Archer following her without her permission while she was out wasn't helping her as much as she expected, because either way, they still overlooked the damn naked Berserker sleeping beside her dumb Master up until his daily visitors found out about them.

Now, Rin hoped that things won't go any worse today. She already had her feelings forced out, her pride torn apart and stomped on, and her intelligence further mocked by all of that.

Hopefully, she wasn't forgetting anything else now...

"Why, if it isn't Rin. I have been trying to call you recently, but you have not been answering. Have you been indulging yourself with that boy over there?"

...Oh wait, there was Kirei.

Well, at least today could still be called another day in the life of Rin Tohsaka...

* * *

**Author's Note:** It's been about a year, and the rising Follow and Favorite numbers, along with some concerned messages, have gotten me amazed and apologetic. Whoop-dee-doo~

So yeah, I apologize for this long-ass wait. It's hard to explain in full detail not updating for so long, but the explanation I can give involves focusing on IRL stuff - particularly school - and video games mixed with procrastinating due to my flawed mindset of wanting to get things done and get gratified very very quickly. I did manage to get through terms of interesting subjects - which included Creative Writing Workshops, Intermediate Japanese, and Basic Street Dance - with decent grades, and I did manage to post some other content along the way, but I think my sense of chilling out rusted along the way there, thus once again leading me up to what I now call "Graduating Year Blues," because all my graduating years before involved me running into hard slumps that made me think of dropping out of school and deluding myself about avoiding being a bum. Thank God Almighty very much that those times also had me going through powerful recoveries, though, all of which involved consultation with very dear people and the undeserved but still given blessings by God Almighty, and this year seems to be going by that pattern as well. Thank God Almighty very much again, indeed, and now, I shall be chilling out with this sort of work and tuning out the too heavy academic stuff some more...

Now, with that small-scaled explanation wall out of the way, I would like to give you peeps tuned into this work of mine lots of thanks! Would I continue to make my update frequency surprising? Maybe less so, considering how I need to focus on more manageable work than break myself down over academic stuff I'd rather tune out...and besides, I have managed to pass subjects despite not having focused so much on certain material while going through them...At least my uni seems to acknowledge that one student can only learn so much...but I digress.

So, what's coming up for this piece of work, then? Well, perhaps this chapter says a lot about that already, so there.

Now, y'all better hit me up with some honest constructive feedback, yo!


	4. And There Was Much Rejoicing?

The dishes were washed, Shirou kept his lips zipped, Archer was having fun pissing people off again, Sakura wasn't freaking out, Berserker was manageable, and Fujimura-sensei wasn't holding so much suspicion about Rin and Shirou.

Not so bad a situation, if Rin Tohsaka were to be asked about it.

Of course, just as things were going more smoothly, Rin just had to take what was probably her regular dose of bad luck once again.

"Oh, it's Miss Tohsaka's guardian!" Fujimura-sensei exclaimed, standing up to greet the maniac, because  _of course_  he was just that charismatic, even with him not even trying to hide his smirk whenever he saw her irritated at him. "Good morning, Father Kotomine!"

Tuning out the formalities between the flippant English teacher and the sadistic fake priest, Rin gave looks to Sakura and Shirou, who were both giving her head tilts and raised eyebrows.

Fortunately, Shirou narrowed his eyes when they focused on Kirei.

And then there was Sakura, whose eyebrows raised higher as she alternated looks between her older sister and her older sister's guardian.

She wasn't sure if they both felt the same way, but Rin could imagine herself and Sakura feeling a lowering in their respective opinions of their late father at that moment.

"Oh, I feel the same way, Father!" Fujimura-sensei continued, hands on her cheeks as she wiggled around and squealed with an oversugared smile and voice. "Our babies being all grown up and getting along so well with each other..." And then she did some overdramatic face covering with both of her arms. "...it makes me cry tears of mixed emotions!"

"Yes, fate is quite unpredictable, indeed," Kirei followed, hands behind his back as he went on with that slithering drawl and that calculating smirk. "Though that makes it an even more worthwhile companion. I apologize for being unable to share your sentiments, then, Fujimura-sensei."

"Oh, it's no problem, Father Kotomine!" Fujimura-sensei answered, doing one more hard rub with her arm before giving Kirei a smile and a thumbs-up. "And really, you're so polite! Rin tells me that you don't visit her much, but she's quite independent, and I'm sure that you've been helping her grow quite well, considering how she's such a model student at school!"

Oh, if Fujimura-sensei only knew...

"I thank you very much for your gratitude, then, Fujimura-sensei," the fake priest replied with a bow, and then he turned to look at his glaring charge. "Now, it pains me to have to give you a reprimand in front of such friendly people, Rin, but I believe I told you to contact me if you ever find yourself in trouble, no?"

"Huh? Something's wrong, Miss Tohsaka?" the English teacher asked, followed by rushing a little too close to Rin's face. "How can your teacher and crush's guardian help you, then?"

"Wait, you're in what trouble, Tohsaka?" the idiot Emiya then decided to ask, as not only did he not get that Kirei was speaking in cypher, he was also a pitiful brownie who worked too hard for his own good.

And Rin wouldn't admit it out loud, but her decision to skip out on having the idiot visit Kirei and get registered also caused him to ask that dumb question. And of course the fake priest would know that the seventh Master had already summoned his Servant, even if he didn't know who it was at first!

Meanwhile, Sakura was quiet, but she was giving odd looks, still adding to the attention which now painted Rin as the center of it all.

The current Tohsaka head sighed, and she was about to spin up a lie...

"Family issues are all I can say, even if it is quite of concern to you all, so I apologize. Though Rin and I can manage it just fine, so worry not."

But Kirei beat her to it, as if he were milking all the opportunities, from small to big, to piss her off.

Really, his smile, no matter its size, often said it all!

Then again, Rin still had to keep him around because she wasn't old enough to manage stuff like the family fortune yet. That, and he was also her teacher in certain aspects of combat.

As much as she hated to admit it, Rin owed some to Kirei for managing to get this far in life, indeed.

"Ah, and I believe you have a foreign guest here," the fake priest then spoke, looking around and past the people in the dining room. "She was the one who answered the door, see, and I remember her going to the backyard or somesuch along with the little girl I accompanied for this visit to the master of this house." And then he looked at his charge. "So yes, I forgot to mention this, but your presence here is merely an interesting coincidence, Rin."

And he was getting some sick enjoyment off of it all.

Now, Rin and Shirou exchanged looks.

Rin raised an eyebrow.

Shirou did a shrug.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Ah, I'll get it!" the idiot Emiya automatically declared and stood up, sliding and running out of the room.

Letting out another sigh, Rin decided to follow him, also planning to remind him about checking on Berserker and on Kirei's fellow visitor.

Oh, and there was also a loud banging noise from the back.

Rin could only hope that Kirei didn't do anything stupid at that point.

* * *

When Shirou Emiya opened the front gate of his house, he ended up making eye contact with a very beautiful girl.

"..."

"..."

She had emerald eyes, blonde hair tied up into a bun (and the cowlick sticking out from within the front part of her hair was also quite nicely eye-catching), smooth light skin, a slender figure, small yet straight pink lips, and a hard one-foot-forward posture that gave her quite a commanding aura along with her beauty...and even the maid outfit she was wearing seemed like it blended in well with that aura, making her look like quite a strange yet still powerful foreign beauty!

"Emiya-kun, I think you need to kick your brownie head back in and be polite."

And so, Rin Tohsaka added yet another kick to Shirou's poor kicked leg.

"I'm very very sorry!"

And as expected from Shirou, he went the extra mile as he apologized, going on his knees and placing his palms upon the cold soil by the open gateway where the impossibly beautiful maid stood.

Tohsaka sighed again at that, but Shirou didn't care! He needed to offer great apologies, for great disasters can be caused by small mistakes!

"Worry not, you are forgiven," he then heard the clearly regal voice of the lady (and she spoke with unaccented Japanese too!), and she sounded even more regal than when Tohsaka had her mask on at school!

"Wow, I'm feeling inadequate right now..." Tohsaka also remarked, though she didn't inflict more physical pain upon Shirou. "A-Anyway, get up already, you idiot."

The redhead complied easily after that, getting up and dusting his hands and pants before fully standing up to face the blonde maid.

It should also be noted that although Shirou noticed their height difference, with him being taller than the lady in front of him, he felt as if referring to his gaze at her as "looking down" would be more a big insult than a mere denotative description.

"I apologize for the disturbance," she said with a  _bow_ , which made it harder to  _not_ listen to her, "But have you seen a little girl in purple with white hair and red eyes running by this place? She is my...Mistress...and she is a tad too mischievous for her own good."

"..."

"..."

And there was silence from Shirou and Rin.

"Onii-chan!"

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched voice, one which clearly belonged to a little girl, as an actual little girl rushed into the scene, wrapping her arms around Shirou's waist for a hug.

Meanwhile, there was Berserker standing right behind the little girl...and she was staring with a dropped jaw at the blonde maid, who was also staring with a dropped jaw at the whole scene.

And when the regal blonde looked at the rough blonde, a very intense staring session happened.

Like, really, Shirou didn't get it much, but he could guess that there was something very important that he was supposed to know, and that something was a main cause of the tension that even a spectator like him could feel.

"Is it just me, Emiya-kun," he then heard Rin whisper, a sweat drop going down one side of her face, "Or do they look like they're related or something?"

"Uhhh..."

Now that Tohsaka mentioned it, Berserker and the blonde maid did look similar. From physical features and down to even their presences, they were similar.

And Shirou wasn't quite sure why, but that gave him even more of a bad feeling.

"Onii-chan is a Master?" he then heard the little girl hugging him whisper.

If the tension was just heavy air before, then it was solid ice now.

And then there was a growl, a growl growing from a low rumble to a rising grit, and it was coming from Berserker, who was emanating a visible red aura that started freezing Shirou's blood, even though he could remember how he had a Command Spell affecting her.

Meanwhile, the blonde maid, who was seeming more likely to be a Servant in the Fifth Holy Grail War, started to have a sharper gaze, her arms rising and her forward foot sliding slowly along with that at her rough doppelganger of sorts.

" **GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

Quicker than Shirou expected, Berserker's aura exploded with her shout, and her eyes were covered by a glaring red that burst past her irises, a coloring that made her look more monstrous.

Shirou then felt the two females around him have a tighter hold on him as he held on to them tight as well.

The blowing sound of a gale could be heard as Berserker exploded in place, and there seemed to be the bursting sound of a gust as well, one that was heard as the maid shot one arm out and opened and closed her hand over something.

Shirou could smell the strong scent of magical energy in the air, and with fear taking over him, he tried to shout –

Berserker's exploding aura flashed out as her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her body falling back-first.

And as quickly as that strong scent grew, the magical energy vanished as well.

Now, judging from the looks of his fellow spectators, Shirou felt as if they were all in agreement about how Berserker was still a terrifying sight, even while unconscious and with a more innocent-looking face.

Also, their open yet wordless mouths were shown to each other, piecing two and two together yet still at a loss about what to do next.

"We shall be taking our leave," the blonde maid suddenly declared.

"Huh? Wait!"

But in an unbelievable few seconds, he felt and then saw the little girl embracing him getting tugged and carried away from him with surprising force and speed.

The little girl was yelling too, but she quickly went inaudible to his ears.

"That was quite a breeze that passed by," the visiting priest entered with a casual drawl and a raised eyebrow. "And I believe that your sickly friend here should get immediate medical attention or such."

Shirou blinked with Tohsaka, and then they faced Tohsaka's guardian, Sakura, and Fuji-nee.

"What was that shout, Shirou?" the English teacher questioned with fists raised in front of her. "And I may not like her, but why is Buzzer-chan knocked out? She looked like an okay sort of grumpy when we checked on her...Oh, and she broke your shed door like it was nothing! I'll be teaching her a lesson about valuing another person's precious property once she's fully recovered, then!"

Meanwhile, Sakura just gave silent but wide-eyed looks, her lips pulled down and open with clear worry.

Shirou, hands left hanging in front of him, was about to chase after the strange duo that had just ran away, but the unconscious Berserker had him bearing heavier responsibility, especially considering how Fuji-nee was walking further into dangerous territory here, so he went to lift Berserker up and carry her to his room, which was right beside the room where her identity was further revealed recently.

Once he had her lying in his futon, the redhead found himself uncertain about what to do with the blonde. Palms hanging in front of him, questions like "Do Servants need to have their pulse checked while they're unconscious?" popped up in his head, and –

"Just leave her be for now, Emiya-kun."

"Tohsaka?"

And there was Tohsaka again, standing by the other Master-Servant pair, with her own Servant certainly standing by, though still invisible.

"And Archer, please shut your invisible mouth," she added, one hand placed on her hip as she continued to focus her eyes down on Shirou and Berserker. "I am trying to salvage this situation as best as I can."

"T-Tohsaka?" the third-rate repeated with more confusion.

"Let's just pretend that everything's okay for now, okay, Emiya-kun?" the school idol then told him, equipped with a convincing yet certainly fake smile of confidence on her face yet again. "We need to get those three out of this house, or, at least, not have them be too curious and find out about things that they shouldn't find out. Understood?"

Shirou blinked, and then he put his hands down, eyes hardening with resolve as he went to follow Tohsaka's orders and stand –

"On second thought," the school idol interrupted, "Just stay there for now. I'll be doing the talking to them. And to be frank, I don't trust your mouth in situations like this, Emiya-kun."

And she walked away, leaving the Emiya staring at her, his fists clenched as he felt some self-loathing rise up within him.

And then he looked at his Servant again, all as he wondered about how and why his life was going like this so far.

* * *

"...I believe you should have more confidence in Emiya-kun, Fujimura-sensei. He's quite a hardworking schoolmate, as we all know, and for all his quirks, I think he can handle this well by himself."

"Well, you got me there, Miss Tohsaka..."

Sakura had some relief about Fujimura-sensei easily believing her more charismatic older sister, but still, that didn't erase her worry about her Senpai and his Servant, along with her sister's involvement in all this.

That, and her older sister's guardian did not help in easing Sakura's worries. Sakura easily figured out that Father Kotomine was the War's Overseer, considering what she had heard from Shinji and Zouken, but meeting him in person was a whole different experience.

She couldn't fully explain it, but something about the man was...off.

What rang Sakura's alarms, to be more exact, was how her older sister was so rebellious towards the man. The former Tohsaka, though estranged with the current head of her blood family, knew that Rin held respect for authorities, even if one of them were an oblivious man like their father.

And considering how Rin wasn't dead yet (like their foolish father, whose death Sakura had learned about from passing mentions by that old worm and by Rin herself) despite having that sort of attitude towards her guardian, perhaps the man liked to show off how off he was, but not enough to drive Rin away.

Or perhaps her older sister felt as locked up as she was...but then again, she seemed so prim and proper everyday. When she wasn't, she was burning with a fire that couldn't be stopped.

Indeed, Rin still was someone Sakura considered out of her league, even though she felt some sick pleasure at the thought of her older sister feeling something close to the way she was feeling.

And if Rin were feeling like such, then perhaps their parents deserved some curses as well. Father was obsessed with being a magus, while Mother was just a yes-woman, after all.

But Sakura shook her head, remembering how her Senpai's condition was still of greater concern. That would certainly be easier to deal with than her complicated thoughts and feelings about her older sister...

"I believe we need to take some time to have a conversation with you and your...friend in the bedroom, though, Rin," the Matou then heard the priest say, which made her blink and widen her eyes at the phrasing. "I shall take my leave, though, for I have religious matters to attend to."

Meanwhile, the Tohsaka looked at the priest with that scowl again as he walked away.

And although Sakura was feeling more and more jealous of her older sister and how she managed to make a quicker move on her Senpai, she genuinely felt bad for Rin and her need to deal with such an annoying guardian. They deserved better than that, of course.

Suddenly, a loud bang shook Sakura's ears, making her turn her head to the side.

"I shall call you Rin-chan!" Fujimura-sensei declared with an index finger stretched out with a straight arm. Her face was also set in a rock-hard frown.

"...huh?" was the sisters' synchronized response, complete with head tilts.

"But don't take this as me going soft on you, young lady!" Fujimura-sensei continued. "I may not be so strict about letting young love among my students happen, but I will be strict if it involves my dear Shirou!"

And then there were sinking faces.

"I thought you were flaky, but I didn't know you were this flaky..." Rin replied, that stiff smile turning back into a scowl.

"What did you say?" Fujimura-sensei questioned with hard eyes. "Is the school idol actually an evil witch, then?"

Meanwhile, Sakura just sighed, a mixture of exasperation and jealousy – and especially jealousy – rising up.

So the purple-haired girl decided to slowly pull away and fade into the background, leaving her Senpai's house as the crazy princesses of the Fujimura and the Tohsaka began a shouting match within it...

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Einzbern Castle within the Fuyuki Forest, Illyasviel von Einzbern wore closed eyes and a practiced smile for her Servant.

"It seems that you have learned too well from both your mother and your father, young lady."

While the Master was sitting on the stone steps, the Servant was looking down from where she stood on the soil by the steps, her arms crossed as she did so.

"And it seems as if we met an essential part of your legend, Your Majesty," the Master answered, still wearing that fake smile. "Along with finally meeting my big little brother, too."

Saber growled at that, her fingers digging into one arm.

"Quite strange for your father to be so caring..." the Servant of the Sword grumbled with closed eyes.

"And quite strange for you to not understand the value of family," Illya fired back, her eyes sharp and cold above that maintained smile.

"Do you not know a single line of my legend?" the King of Knights questioned with a lower tone, her eyes hard and open again, one of them having a twitch as well.

"Of course I know, Your Majesty," the mocking Master answered. "That seemed to be your 'son,' Mordred, the Knight of Treachery, born from a forced encounter with your own witch of a sister."

"Why do you test my patience, then, Illyasviel?"

"Because you seem to know more than just your legend, if you understand what I mean."

Saber's eyes stopped twitching, having frozen in focus as she felt dread creep upon her.

"Tell me," Illyasviel continued, dropping her smile now, "How do you still remember whatever you knew about Papa during the Fourth Holy Grail War? How can you even hold such a strong aversion to him when you are supposed to know him only as a dead man after I summoned you?"

At that, the Servant of the Sword closed her eyes, her brow sweating as she reminded herself about how this was not the young and innocent Illyasviel she had met before the start of the previous War. She hoped that Illya would grow up to be as kind yet determined as her mother, but Saber began to have some more understanding about why the Einzbern even let Kiritsugu work for them in the first place.

After all, they wouldn't have accepted someone who could not be as cold as them.

And Illyasviel was that man's daughter.

"It does not matter whether you know of how I am able to remember my participation in the previous War," Saber replied, eyes open again and locked with Illya's. "I will admit that I am an irregular Servant, one who still bears the same strong desire to obtain the Grail for reasons I would like to negotiate with you later on, but..." She let out a sigh. "...I am simply worried that you may not be able to take knowing what sort of man your father truly was. And it appears that my worries have been unfounded."

Illya's lips pulled up at that.

"Hm?" the little big girl went, an eyebrow rising as well. "Did you think that I never knew about Papa being called the 'Magus Killer?' Grandfather told me about that in his rant about how he hated him, but he was also glad that he returned your still existing Noble Phantasm to the Einzbern." And then she turned her head to the side, sneering. "Though he didn't need to mock Papa right after he died in front of us...If I could, I would've strung that old toy by the balls..."

Saber stared.

And Saber blinked.

Saber also realized that her jaw had dropped.

That was quite a lot to take in, indeed.

Still, Arturia Pendragon felt like a knot in her chest was untied.

"Well, in that case," the smiling Servant said, though with eyes closed and arms still crossed, "I would like to tell you what I truly think about your father right now, then, Illya."

"Oh?" the sitting Master responded. "Do tell me, then, Saber."

"Alright," Saber replied, letting her arms down and opening her eyes, "I have never been this frank about something, so please remember that my utterance of what I shall say next shows how strongly I feel about your father."

"Just get to the point, you cowlicked King."

"Your father was a cunt, you stupid girl."

And then there was silence.

And speaking of silence, the maids of the castle had already finished repairs on the broken wall faster than expected. They were now standing between the Master-Servant pair, too, each halberd now held two-handed, forming a cross as well.

"We recently finished repairs on the castle," Sella declared with a stern frown, "So please do not have your quarrel damage this castle again."

"Yes. Sella. Is noisy," Leysritt added with that usual blank look of hers.

Still, some wire wrapped around Sella's ankle and a foot to Leysritt's side showed how much Illya and Saber cared about that at the moment.

* * *

**Author's Note:** If I make an update, then you can bet that I'm holding myself well enough out there at the moment. The quality of what I put out is a different story, though, so yeah, as usual, I'll need your honest constructive feedback, dear readers.

And hey, I'd like to send my thanks to those who gave their thoughts on this so far and those who found this interesting enough to be tuned into. Also, I hope I'm not causing mood whiplash too hard on you all with how I'm juggling all these characters' actions, thoughts, and emotions.

And now, since I don't have much else to say, 'til next update, then.


	5. Unleashed

_Fire._

_Was it that hill again?_

_It might as well have been yesterday when that battle happened, but...something was different._

_She probably didn't even notice it the first time. Fire reminded her of that hill, after all._

_But for one, the fire on that hill was not as hellish as this one. Or perhaps it should be said that it was more similar to the popular image of hell._

_In other words, fire was everywhere. It only left a small hole showing a dark sky, all while smoke rose and clouded along._

_Had she died?_

_No, she did not die. She would not die._ She will not die. _Even if she died and went to Hell, she would simply kill the Devil and dig her way out of there, because_ she will not die until she has her wish fulfilled.

_But just as she prepared to stand up with the rage that would burn hotter than the fires surrounding her..._

_...there was a cry._

_It came from a man she never met before, standing over her, taking her – No, it was_ his  _hand, a young hand that was never hers ever since._

_Yet why did it pain her so? Why did the sight of an unfamiliar man crying over a dying child give her so much pain?_

_And then she saw him take out_ that scabbard.

* * *

"No wonder I overhear Issei-kun complaining about you! I thought he was just being ironic!"

"Well, no wonder Emiya-kun has a hard time with you around! And I very much wanted to believe that you were just putting up a front!"

"Oh, you wanna go, Miss Tohsaka?"

"I can break your sword in half with my bare hands, Fujimura-sensei!"

And then Archer slammed their foreheads into each other, making them fall onto their backs from the reactionary force.

Having snuck back in with simple materialization from behind a hallway corner and a removal of his red shroud, Archer moved to stop the two females from causing further destruction in the Emiya Residence.

And it should be said that in no way would the Counter Guardian trust the dumb kid with his Berserker to stop this sort of fight quickly, because the kid would just become another addition to the floor via kowtowing into it.

And speaking of kowtowing, the kid was an upper body away from doing so as he stared past the open doorway of the bedroom.

Well, at least the kid wasn't doing as bad as he expected.

Now, back to those two...

"I'll force you both to clean up under my very strict supervision if you don't control yourselves," Archer threatened, glaring down at Fuji-nee and Rin.

"But Mr. Archer!"

"Archer, what the hell do you think you're doing!?"

"I just cleaned up this house," the man growled, towering over them further, "And do you think that I'll just take it like some mindless robot if I have to witness it get destroyed again?"

At that, the two immature women shuddered, eyes shrinking back into their whites.

And then the back of Archer's enraged mind came back to the front, noting how strange it was to see these two women, who overpowered him so much before, shudder and freeze because of him, especially because of something like cleaning.

Sure, there was that sick satisfaction about managing to get his point across to his freeloading big sister figure and his multi-faced Master, but Archer felt like it was still him having gone too far.

"Hey, A-Archer-san..." the kid's voice entered, "It's just cleaning...I-I can handle it."

Archer didn't give him a look. He just closed his eyes, turned his head, and crossed his arms.

"Fine, you can handle that," he told the kid. "Though there's nothing to clean up right now...unless you're talking about these girls' personalities..."

""Hey!""

"Well, I'll just...talk with them, then..." the kid agreed, though he had a sweat drop on his forehead and a hesitant smile. "You can watch over...Sammo-san here."

Looking at where he was now, Archer found that, at the very least, he could hold his own better than the kid ever could in terms of dealing with the unconscious Berserker in the room.

"Alright, then," the tall and tanned man agreed, walking over to the bedroom to stand beside Berserker. "Now get to it, kid."

The kid looked like he wanted to say something, but Archer didn't give him the chance to capitalize on that, so he slid the door shut in front the younger one's face.

Nobody bothered to go against that sliding of the door, so Archer walked back, sighing as he stood by the other Servant.

Indeed, today was another ongoing disaster.

If that encounter with Arturia (in a skimpy maid outfit for some reason he couldn't fathom) and Illya hadn't happened, then the Counter Guardian probably would've still been able to banter with Mordred. He didn't have much doubt that the Knight of Treachery just broke her Master's hold on her Mad Enhancement because of that encounter and outburst.

And then there was that fake priest. That guy was bad news, and even worse with what he apparently knew now. Rin's recent emotional tangles didn't help there, so Archer felt the need to be more vigilant as he stayed closer to wherever his Master was.

As for Sakura...she left the house, but Archer didn't bother following her. As much as he wanted to help her, he hid secrets too many and too dark to be helpful, while she had complicated relationships on top of having a complicated personality. Along with all that, self-loathing and helplessness are things he was no stranger to, so much that he could probably call them his best friends already. They would need deal with her later, though.

Anyway, Archer needed to prepare as much as he could for the possible damages he could see so far.

If his knowledge of Arthurian legend still had that sharpness, then he would need to negotiate and maybe even work with the Berserker, if she could be reasoned with in her Mad Enhanced state. If reasoning with her won't work, then he would need to kill the kid and make sure that she would only cause minimal damage. Not an easy choice, but he wasn't going to take any chances. Besides, maybe he'd even die and never come back if he killed the kid with his own too stained hands.

But on the chance that he could reason with Mordred, he would need to get her to Arturia and Illya without too much blood shed and property wrecked. Having the kid and Rin brought along as well was also probable, and since that chase and escape by the Saber and the Einzbern didn't show murderous intent from them (if it were about that maid outfit, though, then it didn't count in this case), perhaps the only one they should be worried about there was the Berserker.

Oh, and there was also Kotomine. Nicer Illya may be in this timeline, but that man's scent still reeked as much as Archer could remember. If the fake priest accompanied Shirou Emiya's little sister wannabe of an adoptive older sister, then he would need to watch out for an ambush or several later on, especially by that blue and battle-hungry Lancer. A possible three-on-one certainly made dealing with the Irish hero easier, but the ambush possibility was a crucial factor. There was also that golden bastard with a very strange but still dangerous ego, and although the chances of that one showing up were lower, safely appealing to his ego should be put in consideration...

As for the Matou camp, Sakura shouldn't get forced help. Rider would be the first wall to deal with, though, unless there was a chance where Shinji could be disposed of without much hindrance from the Matou Servant. As for the old worm...Perhaps Illya knew how to deal with him?

"Don't move, fool."

Suddenly, there was a sword underneath his neck.

Looks like he would need to review and revise his plans on the go, then.

Damn E-Rank Luck.

* * *

"Oh yeah, I forgot to ask...Who was the bastard that knocked me out this morning?"

Shirou saw Tohsaka's eyes widen as her body tensed, though it was barely noticeable.

"Huh?" the school idol then went, eyes narrowing.

And then the school brownie realized that they had done something stupid and forgot to prevent it early on.

"I know somebody hit me in the head," Fuji-nee raved, fists clenched and shoulders hunched towards Tohsaka, "And I know that Shirou-kun and Sakura-chan don't have the guts to do that!"

Shirou felt himself still at the rising tension, though Rin put a hand on her hip, chin lifted up some as she locked eyes with Fuji-nee.

"Okay..." Tohsaka went, "How about you go take a nap for an hour or two and forget about this, then, Fujimura-sensei?"

"Huh?" Fuji-nee blinked. "A nap? Well..." And then she yawned. "Maybe...maybe you're right..." And then she swayed. "I'll take your...your room...Shi...rou..."

By the time he realized what Tohsaka just did to Fuji-nee, Shirou still managed to rush quickly enough to catch his big sister figure with his arms before she hit the floor.

"Tohsaka...What did you do?" he asked her, eyes narrowed at the complicated girl he found having a crush on little ol' him. It was nice to put a stop to the danger, but it felt a little too rude for his liking.

"Well, I hypnotized her, if it wasn't obvious enough," Tohsaka replied, arms crossed and chin raised. "Or are you just that dumb about magecraft that you don't even know how to hypnotize someone for a short while?"

It was jarring to face such cold condescension from her, but then Shirou had to remember that despite the ridiculous quarreling he saw them have lots so far, she wasn't the school idol and Archer's Master for nothing. He already faced her angry recently, sure, and he already faced her being aloof as well at school a lot, but none of them included this air of self-importance that seemed willing to even  _kill_  just to get what she wanted.

Indeed, she was much like her Servant with that attitude, and it made Shirou start fearing the risk of the breakdown of their alliance.

"Seriously," Tohsaka continued, "Our teacher's life is in danger with your Berserker now back to being a ticking time-bomb, and considering what I know about Fujimura-sensei, we're just delaying the inevitable demands for information she'll be doing once she gets back up."

That, Shirou could not refute, so he didn't say anything in reply there.

"And I hope that outburst your Berserker had in front of those two from a while ago gave you even just a shred of a hint you can understand about how much danger we're in now, Emiya-kun," the partner Master added.

"Wait, those two girls were Master and Servant?" Shirou spoke up, confusion about that rising once again. "Huh, I guess that's why they looked and felt so strange..."

"Of course they were strange," Tohsaka shot back. "They seem to be from the Einzbern, too, though the Master's interest in you makes me wonder if you know her."

"I don't know her, Tohsaka. I've never met her before."

"Really?"

"Honest. I was surprised when she hugged me. But I don't mind making friends with her and her Servant. They seem pretty friendly. Maybe they can be convinced into making sure that the Grail doesn't fall into evil hands!"

"Alright," the school idol sighed, "Let's assume that they can be convinced about that, then. Will your Servant be able to help you there, though, considering how she probably will be after she wakes up?"

"Uhhh..."

Fuji-nee's weight felt heavier as Shirou thought about that.

"I think you should put our idiot English teacher in a bedroom first, though, Emiya-kun," the school idol then told him. "For our convenience and her safety, however much we'll be able to have right now."

If Tohsaka's earlier mask breakdowns were, dare he say it, cute and cool despite their awkwardness, then this one was cold and callous despite its sensibility.

Really, with how much they spun his mind around, Shirou wondered which parts he saw were her masks and which parts were her true self.

Still, Shirou followed Tohsaka's suggestion-toned command and brought Fuji-nee to one of the guestrooms. He did manage to lay Fuji-nee down and tuck her under a blanket, and he was even surprised by how she quickly rolled on her side and started drooling into the pillow right after that.

And when he came back...

"Okay, all of you shall help me find my father today, or I might as well take you all with me on a trip to the Grim Reaper. Understood?"

...plans broke down just as fast.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Einzbern stronghold in the Fuyuki Forest stood whole and repaired.

"How unsightly and impractical," Sella commented, though.

After all, a nearby part of the forest where said stronghold was situated told a different story. Trees lay whole on the ground, thick roots fully exposed with clinging bits and chunks of loam. Some of them were cleanly cut into parts, their smooth tree rings shown, while others were crushed into uneven shapes and sizes, looking as rough as the bark that served as their skins. The grass and the weeds were also scattered among them, and the varying mix of green and brown also had shades of burnt black here and there, too. Along with that, there were also a few small animal corpses that, unfortunately, became part of the ruins.

The causes of all that stood in the irregularly round and barren clearing they made, each of them having one foot forward and two fists clenched.

"So...fully reminded of Papa, Saber?" taunted the cause named Illyasviel von Einzbern, who flicked her hair back and held some strands in place.

"Irisviel makes it difficult to call you a fully unholy spawn, Illyasviel," replied the other caused named Arturia Pendragon, holding her wind-concealed sword back and shifting her weight down to her legs.

"But Mama loved Papa," Illya shot back with faux innocence, complete with an index finger under her chin, "So what does that make her?"

"Grgh..." Saber grunted in response, knowing that giving her honest opinion on that would mean another bombing from her Master...though she had some struggles with resisting the urge to bring up Irisviel's horrendous driving skills.

And then there was more tense silence, weapons at the ready as the two homunculus maids watched on from the castle steps with resignation.

"At least we shall not need to worry so much about covering this up..." Sella sighed, putting a hand to her forehead, "And at least the castle itself did not have to suffer any damage again..."

"At. Least Sella. Is not. So noisy," Leysritt added, drawing out another sigh from her more straitlaced partner.

Fortunately, Saber opened her hands and let her shaped wind disperse along with her hidden sword, straightening her posture as she also let out a sigh.

"This is nonsense," the Servant stated. "And we have not yet even discussed about my...'son' being an adversary of ours in this War."

"Finally, you came to your senses, Your Majesty," Illya relaxed, smiling and straightening up as well as she gave her hair one last flick.

"Such an innocent mask..." Saber muttered to the side at the thinly veiled patronizing.

"Did you say something, Saber?" the Master asked, eyes closed and one leg on tiptoe with that mocking smile.

"Nothing of relevance, Master," the Servant answered, turning her lips more horizontal.

"My, quite a courteous maid I have."

And Illya even dared to add that, reminding Saber about how she wore that frankly humiliating maid outfit. It was destroyed in the instantaneous clothing transformation which Servants can do, but still, having to run around with that still was something the woman known as King Arthur did not want to go back to.

"Thank you, Master..."

Unfortunately, Illya made sure to have a closet full of those outfits just for her Servant, so Saber gave that reply through gritted teeth.

If this was the price she had to pay for cursing her parents, then Saber could say that it could have been worse, at least.

Still, Saber had a question.

"Illya..."

"Hm?"

It was the serious question beneath all the foolish fighting they just had, and it was never answered by their raging back-and-forth over how much respect should have been given to the most intriguing figure of their quarrel.

"What happened to Kiritsugu Emiya?"

* * *

_"Please..."_

_It was a bittersweet sight._

_That much young Illyasviel von Einzbern understood as she hid a distance behind Jubstacheit, the cold man whom she called Grandfather, colder than the poor Japanese man crawling on thick and piling German snow._

_"Illya..."_

_When she heard him call her name, the little girl ran towards him, ignoring the indifferent gazes around her._

_Pale and white-covered forms surrounded the father and daughter. Majority of them also wielded humongous constructs of sharp and blunt gray. Dots and streaks of red also stained said whites and grays, and although they were like the eyes of the more numerous humanoids in the scene, none of them held as much life as those red stains did._

_None of them were as important as her weakened father._

_"Papa!"_

_In his hands was something blue and gold, which she pushed away in favor of her warmth...warmth which met growing cold._

_"Illya...?"_

_His eyes were so empty and dark, as if they could not see how much life he had just scattered. His clothes were in tatters, black burnt even blacker, and he reeked of a scent so noxious to her magical senses._

_Still, Illya embraced her Papa, for he clearly fought his way back and never gave up._

_After all, she always knew that he would come back for her. Maybe he had taken another child into his care out there, and maybe Mama had died in the War, but she knew that he was a fighter,_ she knew that he was a hero...

_...and this was proof enough for all that and his enduring love for her._

_"Papa's...home...Illya..."_

_Yes, Kiritsugu Emiya lived and died a hero._

_That was his daughter's unwavering belief._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Battle scenes are coming, and they shall be written with the best of my abilities despite my low confidence in writing such scenes.

Also, Her Royal Snarkiness seems to have touched some hearts deep. Amazement and gratitude goes to those fellow nuts of mine, then.

Still, honest constructive feedback is highly encouraged and will be highly appreciated, even if you don't think my output is great.


	6. Sunday Stakeout

It was a silent Sunday at the Emiya Residence.

Well, that was what Taiga Fujimura thought as she woke up, yawning as she sat up and noticed the dim orange light along with the cold conditioned air.

She slid the window open slightly as she checked her surroundings, too, and she found that the sun was already setting.

Strange was how she was sleeping in the middle of the day, but stranger was how she...

"Huh...How'd I fall asleep again?"

As she tried to remember how she fell asleep, she kept drawing a blank.

If she were a more typical person, she would've just went on with her day, keeping the questions to herself and then forgetting those as well.

The thing, though, is that she was the heiress to a yakuza group.

And so, Taiga had narrowed eyes and a hand underneath her chin, now in a moment her social circle would consider rare.

"I'm a little too forgetful today..."

Oh, and she was aware of how flaky she could be. She felt like it was just a natural part of her, though, as did her freeloading habits. With so much energy, the world would be out to keep her from destroying it, right? And with how much energy she had, why not take advantage of someone so kind and willing to make and serve good food, right?

But then there was this, gaps in memory – gaps replaced by headaches and dizziness – which felt like things she should expect from someone drugged so much.

With those suspicions, Taiga then went out to walk around the house.

Doors were opened, eyes roved around, lights were switched, hands threw stuff around, and feet zigzagged their way.

Oh, and of course, she checked the fridge.

"THERE'S NOTHING IN THE FRIDGE!" she also shouted. "WHERE ARE YOU, SHIROU?"

And then she picked up on a trace of memory which may lead her to solving the mystery of the memory gaps.

Said trace was another student of hers, one who had a scandalous casual outfit, one very unlike her appearance and reputation in school.

"RIN TOHSAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And so, Taiga Fujimura left the Emiya Residence to look for her dear little brother figure and that two-faced temptress, roaring and running and red-eyed.

But first, she had to go back to her house to get a ride and a weapon...

* * *

Today was a very unlucky day for Shinji Matou.

So far, the cocky heir of one of the Holy Grail War's Founding Families had found himself in a string of strange accidents...though there was no such thing as an accident when it came to having a good time, especially with his dear followers. He knew he was responsible for them, after all, and any damage they would acquire would be his fault, no questions asked.

Of course, he could argue if there were people and/or things who clearly had more fault than he would have, but still, people were stupid more often than not, so he would have to expect being on the losing side most of the time. He wasn't the pessimistic sort, though, only realistic, so he still would argue for himself if he could see a good enough chance.

Now, today's arguments started with his dear...sister...leaving the house earlier than usual. Not like he didn't expect her to run off to that dumb Emiya's place on a daily basis, but she had some responsibilities as a younger sister for her older brother, and there were also more urgent ones which could happen without warning.

And so, Shinji left the house grumbling and stomping about being unable to confront her sister, especially since he had to go on another scheduled date that morning. At least it was something to look forward to, especially since the girl he was going out with reminded him of his...bodyguard.

The girl wasn't really on the level of his bodyguard, though, which was more a fortune to him, since although she tended to have a thick sci-fi novel on her person, she looked at him whenever he talked, and she was also of the opinion that her female peers were all dumb bimbos who were easily hooked by money, property, and popularity. She also tended to give him a raised eyebrow, though, but he didn't mind, because he wasn't in the mood for easy catches at the moment.

Of course, her tall height and stunning curves covered by her sweater and jeans made her a top option instantly when he caught her sitting on a park bench during last night's...stroll. Her short hair and her framed glasses also made her look more mature, and since he was also frustrated by the fact that he could only watch and not interact, let alone touch, with his bodyguard more personally, Shinji decided to switch from silence to conversation.

He ended up getting some cynical philosophical spiel or something when he asked about why she was sitting on a park bench so late at night, though, but she accepted when he asked her to hang out with him at a cafe the morning after for some "enlightening conversations about how the world is dumber than it thinks." Shinji didn't really say it was a date, though, but she didn't need to know that.

After all, he had a way to help get it to the really good parts real smoothly. And if his bodyguard wasn't up for it, then hey, he could always wait for the girl to lead herself into a good spot for it, considering how her cynical ass had a habit of walking into dangerous places during dangerous times.

The thing, though, is that he wasn't able to reach that part after a certain accident at the cafe.

See, they were sitting by an outside table at the cafe they went to, which was the girl's favorite hangout spot when she was hungry in the middle of what she called her "danger strolls," and things were going pretty well. He learned that she liked sitting outside whenever it was winter, as she liked the cold for reasons of edginess, and he learned that she liked her coffee black, which gave Shinji ideas about how he would give her a really good time later on.

Now, just as the waitress went out of the cafe proper to deliver their orders of blueberry cheesecake and black coffee, some random little girl rushed by, knocking the waitress to their table and spilling their orders all over.

If Shinji had held his temper, he and his date would've gotten their orders again for free, but Shinji found some room to argue, telling the waitress off for her lack of reflexes.

That just had to make his date tell him off, express her desire to go home, and then go home without waiting for him to respond.

Shinji wanted to rush after his date and teach her a lesson about disrespecting him, but he was suddenly knocked down by some blonde maid with an outfit so skimpy that he could see her flashing white panties.

All that left him confused, but by the time he got back to his senses, Shinji found himself in a very infuriating situation.

Oh, he would've spent some time teaching the waitress, who was the closest he could reach at that time, but the cafe proper was filled with people, and the manager was a buff but polite man whom Shinji decided to be polite to, since the guy looked like a muscle-brained dumbass who would kill if shouted at, even while bowing.

And so, Shinji decided to just take another stroll, walking on sidewalks, crossing roads, and standing within empty alleys as he tried to relax for the rest of the day.

And then he bumped into a certain someone, all while he turned a corner on a Miyama Town street, some time after the lights on the sides went on...

"N-Nii-san!?"

...and it was a certain someone he hadn't seen since the morning.

He gave her a grin, then.

"Well, hey there, Sakura," he also told her. "How's Emiya doing today?"

As usual, she looked at him with widened eyes, a trembling form, and some backward steps.

"Real dumb on you again?" he continued, giving her a frown. "Haven't you even tried to ask him to give you some? He's so stupid and self-loathing that he'll do anything you want, especially with a little force, you know?"

"B-But..." she tried to reply, but it only trailed off, the whites of her eyes encroaching on her purples as she froze in place.

"Hmm...maybe he's rubbing off on you now..." he told her as he grabbed a trembling arm. "But that's nothing new. I guess that's more reason for me to ask you to stay away from him, no?"

More trembling was what he received.

"Why do I even ask you to open your mouth?" Shinji then continued, sighing. "Oh yeah, there is  _that_...so I guess you don't need to speak so much as long as you do as I say, at least..."

And so, the older brother pulled his dear younger sister along, an invisible bodyguard watching over them as they went back to their house.

"Halt!"

Well, that sounded like someone who was in a delusion. Who even bothered using such formal words these days?

Oh wait, there was him when a girl liked it fancy...well, just in the beginning, if it was any consolation.

But that aside, it probably wasn't someone worth noticing, and his impatience was growing, especially considering the thought of his jumpy younger sister not giving him more of the attention he deserved.

So with that, he groaned as he continued pulling.

"I SAID 'HALT,' YOU IGNORANT DOG!"

By the time he heard that shout and comprehended what was carried by that, a rush of air and a clang of steel had the hairs on his skin standing straight.

Because of that, Shinji turned around, teeth gritted and sister unhanded (though he knew she would stay in place, all because she knew her place), to face whoever was daring to attack him.

But before he could get a good look at his adversary, there was another rush of air, one which touched his cheek and did a little digging upon it as he adjusted his stance.

The smell of iron was something he could not deny after that, but before he could even raise his hand to check, an approaching glint had him stepping back and then falling on his rear.

As embarrassing as it was to hear himself let out an unflattering yelp, he had enough sense to dodge something rushing towards his face, after all.

"Nii-san!"

Aww, she cared for him.

"Get out of the way, Sakura!" he then shouted at her.

But before he could find out more about how Sakura responded, among other things, Shinji's vision was covered by stars.

After that, all of his senses suddenly went out.

* * *

"'I shall take what you mongrels call your 'sweet time,'' he says...I swear, if I could shove this spear up his ass, then I would do it gladly, gay jokes be damned..."

Yet again, it was an irritating day for Cu Chulainn, the Lancer of the Fifth Holy Grail War, and another one of Kirei Kotomine's Servants after aforementioned current Master stole him and his former Master's Command Spells.

Well, getting stolen from his former Master wasn't so much of a problem, although he did feel bad about missing out on having some fun action with such a feisty pretty lady...and if he could, he would also scream at his former teacher and show that girl off to her cold and sadistic ass.

But still, a life of misfortune had Cu feeling numbness in the face of death and other irreversibly horrible things more easily. Even in this life, misfortune was his best friend, which left him with the only thing that made him feel alive: battle. In particular: steel against steel, limb against limb, blood against blood.

Yes, he had not found himself in much physical battle recently, and while battles of the mind and spirit had their appeal, they easily bored him if they were not accompanied by battles of the body, especially one where his very own was involved.

And such was why Cu hated being assigned to surveillance roles. Today had him assigned to a mission which had higher chances of him going into battle with other fighters, but still, he had to watch how it would all go first.

There was also the possibility of that golden egomaniac arriving faster than he thought, since the guy had quite a preference for sudden and dramatic entrances, along with also having no hesitation to kill anyone who interrupts his speeches.

With that, Cu decided to just think of how there was still a fight that was going to occur in his mission today, a fight which he would enjoy every last second of. And he wasn't a coward, which meant that he would be happier if he went up against bigger and more numerous opponents!

Now, he just had to find his Master's charge, a lass of a Master who had that swordsman Archer...

"Who goes there!?"

And then he just had to be sensed even while in spirit form.

But as Cu stopped, he didn't find it as bad as he expected.

After all, he could sense quite a large amount of prana coming from his soon-to-be opponents...

"Well, today isn't as boring as I thought!" Cu declared as he revealed himself. "Let's not waste so much time on chit-chat, though," he added, two hands on his spear as he bent down and pointed forward with his battle stance. "Just give me the names you wish to be called by, lasses, and I shall tell you what I wish to be called by. Then, we shall fight."

"Saber," declared the blonde-haired and green-eyed Servant covered by a silver-armored blue dress. She was also holding the air like it was a sword behind her, but it wasn't as weird as an Archer wielding swords, so he found himself with less confusion.

"Illyasviel von Einzbern," curtsied the white-haired and red-eyed little girl in purple winter clothing, cossack included. Cu already knew who she was thanks to his Master, but this was the first time he faced her in person and in battle, so it was still like a first meeting to him.

And with his bloodlust, starting off hot made it all the more enjoyable to him.

So he charged first in response, and then...

"LANCER!"

...he drove the figurative point along with the literal one further in.

"..."

The thing, though, is that he didn't get a single ring and push of clashing steel in response.

It was at that moment when the Lancer then realized that his targets were gone, as they had ran right past him.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE!" Lancer then screamed, now running in pursuit.

Indeed, he should have worded that introduction better.

* * *

"HAAA-HAHAHAHAHA!"

Meanwhile, a sinister force went by with a revving engine, one which haunted the Miyama Town streets even before and when it was parked by the gate of the Emiya Residence.

"..."

"..."

There was no further sign of danger, though, only that force and its noise growing more and more distant.

And so, Sella frontflipped back out of the bush she and her partner were hiding in, landing with a three-point stance on the street beyond a wall of the house they broke into.

Meanwhile, Leysritt simply jumped up and forward, landing on her two feet.

The other maid yelped as she dodged back from the blade of the absent-minded maid's halberd, though.

"Leysritt, watch where you are going!" Sella scolded with a hushed growl and a raised fist.

"Oh. I. Apologize." Leysritt replied, face still as blank as usual.

The sterner maid simply sighed at such a response yet again, and then she put her hands back to her sides, head turning left and right as she checked where they were.

"Well, we checked the boy's house, and we triggered an alarm..." Sella then noted to herself with a whisper, "...but for some reason, no one was inside...well, except for that strange woman..."

"Where. Could they. Be?" Leysritt asked, asking the main question the duo had in mind at the moment.

"Lady Illyasviel still certainly has that foresight beneath that eccentricity of hers, at least..." Sella noted with another sigh and then a frown, "...but this is worrying...Our Lady's adoptive brother may have been dragged away by that probable Berserker and the Tohsaka girl..."

"The Tohsaka. Witch."

"If you did not have that speech defect of yours, I would have asked if you turned into Lady Illyasviel..." Sella muttered, "While I consider the girl a valid concern, as we are in a Grail War, the way our Lady refers to the Tohsaka girl is just...reminiscent of a jealous schoolgirl."

"Back to. The mission."

Sella grumbled at that one-upping, and then cleared her throat.

"Leysritt, go regroup with Lady Illyasviel," she ordered. "I shall search for Master Shirou."

"Lady. Illyasviel. Has competition. It seems."

Sella wanted to groan and even yell at that Lady Illyasviel-inspired piece of stupidity, but for the sake of her sanity, she did not dare dignify it with even a semblance of a verbal response.

After all, whether or not one had a good argument in defense, uptight people like her would be assaulted with needles to the emotions...and Lady Illyasviel had gained great skill with needles and more...

* * *

"Hmm...Do you think Lancer would look good in a butler's suit?" Illyasviel von Einzbern asked her Servant as they ran through the Miyama Town streets.

"Master, now is not the time for such whimsical matters," Saber then declared with a flat expression. "We are attempting to find and confront my 'son' as soon as possible. Also, we are attempting to escape an angered Servant."

"Well, at the very least, he's not a Berserker!" Illya replied. "He still looks like a mad dog, though, but still, he's also really handsome!"

"WHY DON'T YOU FACE MY SPEAR IF YOU'RE GOING TO GOSSIP ABOUT ME!?" the latest subject of discussion screamed from behind them.

"You had us halt on our tracks back there all for the sake of heckling him..." Saber grumbled as they made a turn. "Are you trying to act more like your appearance than your age, Master?"

"I'm trying to act like both, Saber!" the Master replied with a wide grin. "It gives me a very unique charm, you know?"

"IF I WERE SOMEONE MORE DISHONORABLE, THEN I WOULD DO IT WORSE THAN YOUR TRICKERY AND BLAST YOU ALL DOWN WITH MY NOBLE PHANTASM RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"He sounds like he's quite whipped, don't you think?" Illya asked, still grinning.

"Just have him distracted, Illyasviel..." Saber went with a roll of the eyes.

"Now, what makes you think that you can beat my speed?" their pursuer suddenly went, stopping the opposing pair as he stood with a grin right in front of them. "And I have Protection from Arrows, lass," he added, eyeing the shining birds above the two females. "They won't even make a wound on me."

"Who said that I was aiming to wound you?" the little Master asked with a smirk.

And then a flock of glowing birds launched from invisibility, charging to explode and create a concrete dust smokescreen around Lancer.

"Saber, roof-hopping time," the Master went, taking off jumping on to her Servant's shoulders.

"Finally, back to more seriousness..." Saber sighed, jumping away with her Master.

Unsaid, though, was Illya leaving some of those shining birds around the smoke...and smoke wasn't the only thing they would be making this time.

"AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHHH!"

It should also be noted that they were not divebombing rockets, but stationary traps.

"OKAY, THAT'S IT!"

But by the time Lancer had gotten himself out of the smoke, Illya had already escaped with a mad laugh and a sighing Servant.

* * *

Mordred heard explosions in the distance.

There was a blindfolded and chain-wielding woman in black and purple between her and that jealous girl, though, that girl with the disgusting brother Mordred and her hostages trashed. Clearly, the blindfolded woman was a Servant, and considering how she showed up after the brother was knocked out...

The jealous girl was starting to seem more and more like that witch the Berserker was teamed up with, then, though shyer...but then again, demure women led to the kingdom's downfall, and all she needed was a well-intentioned man or two.

Such a traitorous bunch she was surrounded by, indeed. Very much like the knight named Mordred, the Knight of Treachery.

Still, that did not matter to the Berserker much, for all that mattered to her right now was to find and fight her Father.

**"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"**

Her instincts were roaring even louder after she heard those explosions, too, so she rushed past the blindfolded Servant, shoulder in front before spinning, all done with a warped yell.

The blindfolded Servant jumped away from that charge, and that was enough for Mordred to get back into place and run forward to the source of that booming sound.

**"FAAAAAAAAAAAATHERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"**

So did Mordred shout, paying no attention to her dumb Master and his twisted lover screaming behind her. Neither did she pay attention to the arrow which whizzed past her sometime after, an arrow which caused another explosion in another distance, which she never saw because she had turned to the side and entered another street.

And even though she heard that extra explosion she had avoided, she never went back to it, even though she knew that it likely came from that witch's Servant.

After all, she knew that her Father was already nearby, especially as she felt her blood boil like a liquid inferno...

* * *

It was time for the King to reclaim what was rightfully his.

He need not say that with his own mouth, nor even his throat. His presence already said that enough, and anyone who could not recognize that would only be dirt under his feet.

Meanwhile, that mongrel of a companion had already gone ahead, but it was not much of a concern.

After all, she would be able to hold her own, especially with that fiery spirit he loved so much about her.

If she failed, then she would just be another disappointment who did herself the honor of erasing herself from the earth she does not deserve.

But that was just an impossibility considered possible by the delusional, unless it were a comedy commenting on the idiocy that is disrespecting the King. Failure shall not happen in reality. She was his, after all, and defeat shall not come upon her as long as he walked the earth.

Was he worried about how long he would take walking to his bride, though? Of course not. The whole world was his, and the whole world went according to his will. If his bride were tired by the time he arrived, then he would stand in between her and the mongrels against her, kill all those mongrels, and then take her away to his sanctuary, where he would heal her and prime her for high bliss with him.

Yes, all shall go according to his will...

And then he saw his mongrel companion up ahead, facing...an imitation of his bride?

"My, what a disgraceful greeting."

And so, the King unloaded a wall from his treasury.

* * *

**Author's Note:** At first, I thought of Arturia and Illya fighting Cu here, but then I remembered that Arturia and Illya are looking for Mordred and company, so I went to revise it that way. Also, big special thanks to aliesterus for helping me realize more about the crazy potential this Illya here has. Cackles be happening, alright~

Oh, and I get the feeling that with how flaky Taiga is in canon, it's easy to forget that she's a yakuza heiress as well. So yeah, why not flesh that out with the rest of her flakiness we all know and love?

Now, I would like to send special thanks to Ice 88 and FiendLurcher for helping me think about Archer's character better. I also recommend reading the latter's "Eye of the Mind," although I don't have any upcoming scenes showing Archer swinging and throwing his swords around with a lot of detail yet. That piece also helped me think about Cu's character better, too!

Ah, and I had fun working Shinji's and Gil's parts up~

And now, I'd like to remind y'all about honest constructive feedback yet again~ You know what to do, yo!


End file.
